The Good Shepherd Fireplace by Henry Mercer
Depicting Ancient Paintings in the Catacombs of Rome:
Henry Mercer created this fireplace in 1917. It features his handcrafted ceramic tiles that depict Bible scenes. Those biblical images were originally painted as frescos in Roman catacombs. The seminary’s president, Dr. John C. Bowman, had previously explored those catacombs and provided Mercer with images of those ancient frescos.
The fireplace was a gift of F. W. Biesecker. He was a vice-president of this seminary, and was a trustee of F&M College. The Biesecker Gymnasium was named for him. That gymnasium, built in 1926, was later incorporated into the Mayser Physical Education Center.
Above: The fireplace is centered in an inglenook with a floor of Mercer tiles flanked by oak benches.
The Good Shepherd Catacombs Frescos ca. 250 A.D.
and The Good Shepherd by Henry Mercer:
Above left: Shepherd fresco ca. 250 A.D. in the Catacomb of Callixtus, Rome. Image source: Vanderbilt University.
Above Right: The Good Shepherd ca. 1917 by Henry Mercer.
Above: 1. and 2. Jonah and the Whale. 3. Jonah and the Gourd Vine. 4. Samson and the Gates of Gaza. 5. The Good Shepherd. 6. and 7. Stylized Fraktur Motif. 8. Daniel in the Lions’ Den. 9. Raising of Lazarus. 10. Eucharist or Banquet. 11. Noah and the Ark. 12. Moses and Water from the Rock. 13. Jesus Multiplying Loaves and Fishes. 14. Saint Martin Dividing his Cloak. 15. Noah and the Ark. 16. and 17. Stylized Fraktur Motif.
Mercer Tiles Depicting Noah and the Whale
Inspired by Frescos in the Catacombs:
Above: Noah and the whale. Fresco image source: Vhoagland.com
Mercer Tiles Showing the Eucharist or a Banquet.
Based on a Catacombs Fresco:
Above: The Eucharist / Banquet. Fresco image source: Wga.hu
Henry Mercer Marked his Tiles “MoR” for “Moravian”
For his Moravian Pottery and Tile Works:
Image source above right: Henry Chapman Mercer, by Cleota Reed, 1987.
Henry Mercer was not from Moravia, and he was not associated with a Moravian Church. Mercer attended an Episcopal Church and a Presbyterian Church in Doylestown. He named his tile company The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works to honor the talented Moravian craftsmen who had settled in Pennsylvania during the 1700s.
Mercer deeply admired the historic handcrafts of those Pennsylvania German immigrants. Mercer based some of his first tile designs on antique stove plates he had seen in the Moravain community of Bethlehem, Lehigh County.
1926 Newspaper Describes these Mercer Tiles.
The Fireplace “…has no duplicate anywhere in the world.”
Above: A 1926 Lancaster newspaper published a feature article about these Mercer tiles. The headline reads, “Ancient Art Employed in Seminary Fireplaces.”
The article states, “The fireplace facing has no duplicate anywhere in the world.” Henry Mercer frequently created multiple variations of his other tiles and repeated their use in multiple buildings. For example he created variations of his other Bible tiles for the nearby seminary refectory, and for Lancaster’s St. James Episcopal Church, and for other buildings. But Mercer never created variations of this Good Shepherd fireplace.
Previously a Lancaster newspaper stated, “This fireplace is probably one of the finest examples of the tile-maker’s art.” (The Semi-Weekly New Era, Oct. 20, 1917.)