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Christian Metz German-American Religious Leader & Pioneer Christian Metz German-American Religious Leader & Pioneer
By F. Alan DuVal Edited by Peter Hoehnle
Christian Metz was the charismatic leader of the Community of True Inspiration, the Pietist sect that founded the Amana Society in Iowa in 1855. The Amana Colonies today stand as testament to Metz's inspired leadership. This biography of Metz is adapted from the 1948 doctoral dissertation of F. Alan DuVal. 143 page paperback. Penfield Press. $15.00
Amana Style: Furniture, Arts, Crafts, Architecture & Gardens Amana Style: Furniture, Arts, Crafts, Architecture & Gardens
By Marjorie K. Albers and Peter Hoehnle
This book presents a wide variety of Amana arts and crafts. It is illustrated with numerous historical as well as contemporary photos by Joan Liffring-Zug Bourret. Marjorie Albers, a long time student of Amana furniture, and Peter Hoehnle, Amana historian, teamed up to write this definitive account of "Amana Style." 160 pages with 20 pages of color photos paperback. Penfield Press. $15.00
The Morning Star: Words of Inspiration as Presented to The Community of True Inspiration The Morning Star: Words of Inspiration as Presented to The Community of True Inspiration
Edited by Janet W Zuber
Over 5,000 divinely inspired messages were presented to the members of the Community of True Inspiration between 1714 and 1883. Because of the everlasting relevancy of these testimonies, a representative collection has been selected for this book. 174 page paperback. Amana Church Society. $16.00
Inspirations and Translation: Botanical and Horticultural Lithographs of Joseph Prestele and Sons Inspirations and Translation: Botanical and Horticultural Lithographs of Joseph Prestele and Sons
This catalogue of exhibition, as seen at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation and the National Agricultural Library, contains the essay titled Joseph Prestele: Art for the Sake of the Community written by Lanny Haldy, director of Amana Heritage Society. This 84 page paperback contains numerous images of Prestele's Lithographs and many essays about the artist. $18.00
The Commune's Last Child
by Glenn Wendler
At the time of his death, Glenn Wendler had been working on a book containing recollections of life in High Amana in the years following the Great Change of 1932. Now published, this book provides delightful descriptions of various enterprises in his hometown of High Amana, including the sawmill, the capenter shop, the farm, the store, the church, and the wheelwright shop, as well as interesting stories of special events and activities. Available at the Amana Heritage Museum and the High Amana Store. 120-page paperback. $8.00
 

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Amana History
Audio Driving Tour Amana Colonies By Car
Audio CD Driving Tour of the seven historic Amana Colonies $10.00
VHS tape "Amana, the Community of True Inspiration."
DVD of the Amana Heritage Museum's award-winning A-V show on Amana History.
Oral history recollections and historical photos present the history of the community from its origins in Germany and life in the communal Amana Society. 24 minutes. $18.00
book Historical Walking Tour: Village of Amana
Guide map to the village of Amana, with photos, drawings and descriptions of historic sites. $1.00
book Historical Walking Tour: Village of Middle Amana
Guide map to the village of Middle Amana, including descriptions of historic sites. $1.00
quotation Heritage Quotation:
Behold the work of the old... Let your heritage not be lost, but bequeath it as a memory, treasure and blessing...Gather the lost and the hidden, and preserve it for the children.
-Christian Metz.
size: 14" x 11", calligraphy on parchment paper. $3.00

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Amana History: General
The Amana People The Amana People: The History of a Religious Community
by Peter Hoehnle.
The latest title by local historian and doctoral candidate, Peter Hoehnle, this soft cover book details the history of the Amana community. Of particular interest is the book's coverage of post communal Amana. Our #1 best seller for 2003. Penfield Press 2003. $13.00
book Picturing Utopia: Bertha Shambaugh & the Amana Photographers
by Abigail Foerstner. This paperback book provides a history of photography in communal Amana. Over 75 photographs are included in our most popular bookstore title. 149 pages. University of Iowa Press. 1999 $25.00
book Annals of Iowa, volume 60, issue #1
Feaures Community in Transition: Amana's Great Change 1931 to 1933 by Peter Hoehnle. State Historical Society of Iowa. $6.00
Annual Vol. 61 Annals of Iowa, volume 61, Winter 2002
Features Machine in the Garden: The Woolen Textile Industry of the Amana Society, 1785-1942 written by Peter Hoehnle along with The 1853 Mormon Migration through Jeokuk by Fred E. Woods and Douglas Atterberg. 2002 $6.00
book Amana: The Community of True Inspiration
by Bertha Shambaugh. Originally published in 1908, this 1988 reprint is still considered the standard reference on Amana's history. Included in this edition are photographs taken by the author in the 1890s, some of the first taken in the Amanas. 476 pages. Penfield Press. $15.00
book The Amanas Yesterday: A Religious Communal Society
Historic photographs help tell the story of Amana's communal past while the text is short and to the point. An excellant source for teachers and students. Our most popular bookstore title. 48 pages. $10.00
book Amana Today
by Lawrence Rettig. Discusses lifestyle in Amana post 1932 and up to the year 1975. Includes details of the "Great Change" and the reasons behind it. Detailed appendix. Photos. 249 pages. hardcover $5.00
book A Change and a Parting: My Story
by Barbar Selzer Yambura with Eunice W.Bodine.
One women's account of growing up in communal Amana. Focuses on the last years of the communal era and the transition of the Great Change of 1932. Many personal photographs are included in this second edition. Penfield Press, second edition 2001. $17.00

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Amana Church History
These four titles were written by Gottlieb Scheuner (1836 - 1897), historian for the Community of True Inspiration. Translated by Janet W. Zuber, these books contain a vast amount of information about this Pietist faith's early history.
book Inspirations-Historie Volumne I
1714-1728
The founding & early years of the Church in Germany. Concludes with the death of co-founder, Eberhard Ludwig Gruber. 171 pages.
171 pages. $12.00
book Inspirations-Historie Volumne II
1729-1817
Details co-founder, Johann Friedrich Rock's struggle to keep the Church alive after the death of Eberhard Ludwig Gruber. Covers the years after Rock's own death and the continuing struggles of the Pietist group as they attempt to set-up congregations across Germany and Europe. 328 pages. $12.00
book Inspirations-Historie Volumne III
1817-1850
The Reawakening of the faith through the new Werkzeuge, Michael Krausert, Barbara Heinemann and Christian Metz. Covers the eventaul rise of Metz and the emigration to America. 300 pages. $12.00
book Barbara Heinemann Landmann Biography & E.L. Gruber's Teachings on Divine Inspiration and Other Essays
Biography of the last and most influential female Werkzeug to the Community of True Inspiration. This book also offers insight into the faith through essay and Biblical references.
120 pages. $7.00

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Amana Cookbooks
book Amana Colony Recipes
From the old communal kitchens, family size recipes of the foods served in the Amana Colonies for more than a century. New edition, 120 pages. Homestead Welfare Club, 1976. $7.00
book Guten Appetit
from Amana Kitchens Tasteful combination of traditional and contemporary recipes of Amana. 185 pages. Proceeds help preservation efforts in the Amana Colonies. Amana Heritage Society, 1985. $13.00
book Honey Recipes From Amana
Great recipes all use honey, not sugar or artificial sweeteners. 32 pages. $2.00
book Seasons of Plenty
by Emilie Hoppe. Presents the rich cultural and culinary heritage of the Amana Colonies. More than a collection of recipes, this book offers a comprehensive view of Amana. A folklife project by the Amana Arts Guild. 232 pages. Iowa State University Press, 1994. $20.00

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Communal Societies
book American Utopias
by Charles Nordhoff. Contains his personal observations including Amana. Reprint of 1875 edition originally published under the name The Communistic Societies of the United States. 439 pages. $15.00
book Heavens on Earth: Utopian Communities in America 1680-1850
by Mark Holloway. Includes Amana. 246 pages. Reprint of 1951 edition. $9.00
book Communal Societies: Journal of the Communal Studies Association, Published by the Communal Studies Association annually since 1981. All twenty back-issues are available, the following issues contain Amana related topics:

Volumn IV : Three Views of Amana: including The Origins of the True Inspired of Amana
by Walter Grossmann, Eberhard Ludwig Gruber & Johann Adam Gruber: A Father & Son as Early Inspirationist Leaders
by Donald F. Durnbaugh and Before & After 1932: A Memoir
by Henry Schiff. 1984 $6.00

book Volumn V: The Gift to be Single: Celibacy & Religious Enthusiasm in the Community of True Inspiration
by Jonathan G. Andelson. 1985 $6.00
book Volumn XIV: Perspectives on Amana: Introduction: Boundaries in Communal Amana
by Jonathan G. Andelson, What the Amana Inspirtationists Were Reading
by Jonathan G. Andelson, In All the Papers: Newspaper Accounts of Communal Amana, 1867 - 1924
by Lanny Haldy and Market Integration & Agricultural Efficiency of Communal Amana
by Metin M. Cosgel. 1994 $6.00
book Volumn XV: Das Depot and the Post Office: Language Contact and Social Perspectives among the Early Inspirationists
by Philip Webber. 1995 $6.00
book Volumn XVIII: With Malice Toward None: The Inspirationist Response to the Civil War, 1860 - 1865
by Peter Hoehnle. 1998 $6.00
book Volumn XX: Communal Bonds: Contact Between the Amana Society and Other Communal Groups, 1843 - 1932
Peter Hoehnle. 2000 $6.00

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Arts & Crafts
book Fruits & Flowers Carefully Drawn from Nature: 19th Century Lithographs from the Amama Colonies
Catalogue from the Des Moines Art Center's exhibit about the Prestele family and their lithography. Contains history and descriptions of the 36 prints featured in the exhibit. 22 pages. Des Moines Art Center, 2000 $5.00
book Iowa Heritage Illustrated - Spring 2001
Features the article Carl Flick and Grant Wood: A Regionalist Friendship in Amana by Peter Hoehnle. State Historical Society of Iowa. $6.00
book Arts & Crafts Pamphlets by the Amana Arts Guild

$1.00 each
#1 Basketmaking
#2 Quilting
#3 Knitting
#4 Samplers and Houseblessings
#5 Carpetweaving
#6 Utilitarian Woodwork
#7 Tinsmithing
#8 Architecture
#9 Blacksmithing
#10 Calico Prints
#11 Hooked Rugs
#12 Pottery
#13 Lithography
#14 Craftwork for the Kitchens and Gardens

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The Amana Heritage Society programs and exhibits are
supported in part by a Cultural Enrichment Grant from the
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