Mercer Tiles at F&M College
Installed in 1937 for the New Fackenthal Library:
Above: The compass mosaic of Mercer tiles is inset in the pavement of the portico at Shadek-Fackenthal Library.
Four blue tiles depict labors of the four seasons: sowing seed (spring), reaping wheat (summer), picking grapes (autumn), and chopping wood (winter). The perimeter tiles illustrate signs of the zodiac.
The Mercer Tile Works installed this mosaic in 1937, seven years after Henry Mercer’s death. The tile company had continued operations despite Mercer’s passing. These tiles were designed previously by Henry Mercer.
Mercer Tiles at Shadek-Fackenthal Library:
Above: The compass mosaic of Mercer tiles is located on the stair landing at the library’s front entry.
1916: Henry Mercer’s Diploma from F&M College
For his Honorary Doctorate:
Above: Henry Mercer’s diploma for his honorary Doctor of Science from F&M College is archived at the Mercer Museum Library in Doylestown. The diploma is signed by the college president Dr. Benjamin Franklin Fackenthal, Jr.
Later, in 1929, Henry Mercer and Dr. Fackenthal both received honorary doctoral degrees from Lafayette College, the school Dr. Fackenthal had attended as a young man. These two men were longtime friends and colleagues. They both were from Bucks County, and both were important benefactors of the Bucks County Historical Society.
Mercer’s Degree was Presented by F&M President Fackenthal
For Whom the Library is Named:
Above: A 1916 newspaper describes Mercer’s achievements and his honorary degree from F&M College. Henry Mercer was a Renaissance Man.
1. Graduate of Harvard College
2. Anthropologist
3. Former curator of the Museum of American and Prehistoric Archaeology in the University of Pennsylania
4. Explorer of the Hill Caves of Yucatan and many other cave explorations
5. Developer of the process of making and decorating the tiles and pottery of the Germans
6. Classifier and publisher of a history of their early decorated firebacks and stove plates
7. Collector and preserver of the “Tools of the Nation Maker,” which illustrates the work and progress of pioneers in the settlement and development of our country
8. Many other scientific and educational researches
Henry Mercer’s Original Pencil Drawings
for these Tiles at F&M College:
Above: Henry Mercer’s pencil designs for his zodiac tiles: Pisces, Leo, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Aries, Scorpio. Photographed at Mercer Museum Library.
Above: Henry Mercer’s pencil draft for his tiles that depict Capricorn zodiac sign.
Mercer’s Pencil Drawings
Sowing Seed and Reaping Wheat:
Above: Henry Mercer’s pencil designs for his four-seasons tiles: Sowing seed (spring) and reaping wheat (summer). Photographed at Mercer Museum Library.
Above: Spring and summer tiles at F&M College, with Henry Mercer’s pencil designs: Sowing seed (spring) and reaping wheat (summer). Drawings photographed at Mercer Museum Library. The color of the tile glaze is similar to F&M blue.
A Mercer-Tile Fireplace
In the Library’s Former Browsing Room:
Above: A vintage photo of Shadek-Fackenthal Library’s former Browsing Room reveals a fireplace faced with Mercer tiles. This room was later remodelled, and the fireplace was removed. Today this room is named SparkSpace. Photo source: Franklin and Marshall College Magazine, Autumn 2006 (arrow added)
Dr. Fackenthal Dedicated this Library Room
To Wife Sarah Riegel Fackenthal:
Benjamin Franklin Fackenthal, Jr. (1851-1941) was chairman of F&M College’s board of trustees from 1915 until his death in 1941. He was an executive with several mining and manufacturing companies. He was an important benefactor of F&M and donated funds for several buildings which were named for him: a science building, a swimming pool, and a library. He also endowed a biology professorship.
Dr. Fackenthal attended Lafayette College and recieved honorary degrees there. Henry Mercer and Dr. Fackenthal both received an honorary doctorate from Lehigh University in 1929.
Henry Mercer Dedicated his Landmark Book to Dr. Fackenthal
Above: Title page for Henry Mercer’s definitive study of Pennsylvania German stove plates, The Bible in Iron.
That same year, 1914, Dr. Fackenthal presented an illustrated address to the Pennsylvania German Society about this same subject, historic Pennsylvania stove plates. The society met that year in Lancaster’s First Reformed Church.
Also that year, 1914, Henry Mercer was president of the Bucks County Historical Society, and was constructing the Mercer Museum. Later, Dr. Fackenthal succeeded Henry Mercer as president of that historical society.
Christopher Raab’s Definitive Article
About these Mercer Tiles at F&M College:
Christopher Raab is associate librarian of F&M College’s archives and special collections. In 2006 the College Magazine featured his article about Henry Mercer and President Fackenthal. That article is online here.