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FIVE News-Bits of Reading-Berks historical interest..... -------------------------------------------------------- 1- Interesting web-site on the Schuylkill River 2- Augustus Kollner (1812-1906), artist who made Berks renderings 3- Talking machine exhibit closes Wed., Jan. 15th at 4 4- Trix Sisters exhibit will be closing soon 5- Rug Braiding adult workshop, Sat., Jan. 18 - 9 to 3 =================================== 1- Several of you who read these News-Bits have made mention of the Schuylkill River material that exists on the Internet. One of the best is this one:- http://web-savvy.com/river/schuylkill/schuylkill2.html Near the end of this web-site are links to other sources of Schuylkill River information. =================================== 2- Historical Society trustee Richard Machmer of Hamburg recently introduced us to Augustus Kollner (actually, Augustus Theodore Frederick Adam Kollner), an artist who spent most of his life in Philadelphia. He died there in 1906; his birth date is either 1812 or 1813. When young, he traveled around Pennsylvania and beyond to sketch and paint. It is thought he made about a dozen Berks County views...but there could be more. Among those known are two of the Monocacy area, the Pinnacle, Crystal Cave entrance, and the Schuylkill Gap at Hamburg. While Kollner didn’t always sign his works, they are readily recognized by the fact he often dated and identified them using a very distinctive script. The next issue of the "Historical Review" will have a Kollner rendering on the cover and several examples of his work within--along with biographical data. In brief, Kollner was born in Wurttemberg, Germany, 1812... or in Dusseldorf in 1913. While still in his teens, he was involved in the lithography trade. He went to Paris where he found employment designing and drawing ads and illustrations for books. By 1840 he was sketching in and around the Philadelphia area. A number of the Berks paintings are dated in the 1840’s. He married Mary Sheek in 1843; together they had seven children, three of whom grew to maturity. While Kollner’s paintings never sold well, he was lucky in love. Mary’s family had money! Consequently, his latter days were comfortable. Do any of you have a Kollner in your possession? If so, we'd like to know what it depicts. A more comprehensive biographical account will appear in the Society’s magazine, in the Spring issue. You will love the full-color cover that shows a Kollner painting never before seen. =================================== 3- The Society’s "125th Anniversary of the Invention of the Talking Machine" exhibition will be closing Wednesday, Jan. 15th, at 4 p.m. This extraordinary display, sponsored by the Widgeon Foundation, was made available to us--and set up by--Society member Tom McCarthy. Among the really special items on display are two, talking Edison dolls and a Columbia toy talking machine from the early 1890s that plays 4-inch-diameter wax discs. =================================== 4- Another exhibit that soon will be closing features the TRIX SISTERS, vaudevillians from the Newmanstown/ Womelsdorf area. They were particularly popular in the 1920s. This is material you will never see again. Special thanks to Newmanstown historian Carroll D. Lape for making these rare photographs, records, and sheet music available to us. The Society’s library has Trix Sisters recordings on CD’s that can be heard in the library by special request. ==================================== 5- An adult workshop will be held by Vicky Heffner, our education director, that will include the making of an old- fashioned braided oval rug. Cost of the workshop is $75, which includes all the goods needed for the job....wool to finish center section of an oval rug, braid clamp, and lashing needle. The date is Saturday, January 18th, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. As of this writing, there are two or three vacancies left for this workshop session. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. Checks are to be drawn in favor of the Historical Society of Berks County, 940 Centre Ave., Reading, PA 19601 Mrs. Heffner's email address is vicky.heffner@verizon.net ================= gmmix ==== end ====

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