John Ritter
Birth and Baptismal Certificate

PrinterAmerican, 1779–1851
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Birth and Baptismal Certificate
Datec. 1850
PlaceReading, Pennsylvania, United States
MediumWood engraving with watercolor
DimensionsSheet: 16 × 13 1/16 in. (40.6 × 33.2 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.63.147
Not on view

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionElaborate birth and baptismal certificates were important markers of these milestones in Pennsylvania German communities.  While earlier examples were drawn and written entirely by hand, by the late 1700s some began to incorporate preprinted text.  This example was made for a boy named Johannes David Schiltz, who was born on July 15, 1843 in Heidelberg Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.  John Ritter printed this certificate in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Provenance[Hattie Klapp Brunner (1889–1982), Reinholds, Pennsylvania]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1963; given to MFAH.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
[no marks]

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