Pennsylvania Antiques Show 2026

2 ABOUT THE COVER A B OU T the C OV E R Befitting America’s 250th anniversary, featured on the front cover is a Pennsylvania German fraktur with eagle and American flag. This piece is from the collection of Bob and Kathy Booth, and was also selected in Bob’s memory to honor his deep love of Americana and collecting antiques. This cutwork, known as a Scherenschnitt (scissor-cutting) in German, was made in 1844 by Isaac Faust Stiehly (1800–1869) for John Mayer (1794–1883). Embellished with hand-colored details, it features a large spread-wing eagle grasping a snake in its beak and talons and flanked by an American flag. Across the bottom, Stiehly included his name and the date; at the top is the recipient’s name and the year the piece was made. John Mayer was a carpenter, joiner, and turner who lived in Upper Mahanoy Township, near the Northumberland–Schuylkill County border. His daughter Elizabeth married Jared Stiehly, son of Rev. Isaac Faust Stiehly and his wife Anna Maria Knorr. Born in Berks County, Isaac Faust Stiehly was an itinerant German Reformed minister who was ordained in 1826 and became the pastor of the Salem Reformed Church in Rough and Ready, Upper Mahantongo Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Stiehly was also a stonecutter, millwright, farmer, and artist. He made cutworks and may also have decorated painted furniture. Stiehly was related by marriage to John Mayer, a carpenter who made some of the famed Mahantongo Valley furniture. Mahantongo Valley artisans created some of the most iconic examples of Pennsylvania German folk art. Cutwork for John Mayer, by Isaac Faust Stiehly, Upper Mahantongo Township, Schuylkill County, PA, 1844. Watercolor on paper, 10⅛ x 12⅝ inches. Collection of Robert and Katharine Booth. Photo by Michael E. Myers.