Ludwig Denig picture Bible
Scope and Contents
The Denig picture Bible is separated into six sections: a family register, seventeen emblem pictures with accompanying devotional text, an illustration of the martyrdom of John the Baptist with accompanying text, twenty-eight illustrations of scenes from the Passion of Christ, fourteen illustrations of the Martyrdom of the Apostles, and a series of hymns.
Denig's illustrations combine Christian religious imagery with elements from his lived experience during the Revolutionary War.
Also included in this collection is a bound facimile of the Denig picture Bible.
Dates
- 1784
Conditions Governing Access
Collection open for research.
Biographical / Historical
Ludwig Denig was born September 12, 1755, the first child of Philippina and Johann Peter Denig, a turner who arrived in Philadelphia in 1748. The Denig family were members of the First Reformed Church of Lancaster, PA.
Denig trained as a shoemaker in Lancaster, PA, where, in 1779, he married Barbara Gundacker, the daughter of Johann Michael and Margaret Gundacker. The Gundacker family was prominent in Lancaster, and members of Trinity Lutheran Church. In 1787, Denig and his wife moved to Chambersburg, PA, where he opened an apothecary. Barbara Denig (nee Gundacker) died in 1801. Ludwig married Catharine Reger of Chambersburg in 1810. He died in 1830.
Extent
2 Volumes
Language of Materials
German
Metadata Rights Declarations
- License: This record is made available under an Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons license.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Alessandrina and David Schwartz and the Schwartz Foundation. Transferred from the museum collection in 2025.
Existence and Location of Copies
A digital version of the Ludwig Denig picture Bible, as well as scholarship on the manuscript, are available at www.denigmanuscript.org.
The Denig picture bible was first studied by Pennsylvania German scholar Don Yoder. His facimile and translation were published as The Picture Bible of Ludwig Denig: A Pennsylvania Emblem Book (New York: Hudson Hills Press for the Museum of American Folk Art, 1990).
- Author
- Finding aid written by Carley Altenburger.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Winterthur Library Repository