Johann Georg Hohman (also spelled John George Hohman, and his surname sometimes misspelled as Hoffman) was a German-American
printer
Printer may refer to:
Technology
* Printer (publishing), a person
* Printer (computing), a hardware device
* Optical printer for motion picture films
People
* Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist
* James Printer (1640 ...
,
book seller and compiler of collections of
herbal remedies
Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...
,
magical healings
With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells i ...
, and
charms. He immigrated to the USA from Germany in 1802, settled in the area around
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...
, in the
Pennsylvania Dutch
The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...
community, where he printed and sold
broadsides,
chapbooks
A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...
and books and practised and instructed in the arts of
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk horror
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
magic and
folk religion
Folk religion, traditional religion, or vernacular religion comprises, according to religious studies and folkloristics, various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized religion. ...
which became known as
pow-wow
A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Inaugurated in 1923, powwows today are an opportunity for Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their ...
. He was active between 1802 and 1846.
Hohman's best known work is the collection of prayers and recipes for folk-healing titled
''Pow-Wows'', or the ''Long Lost Friend'', published in German in 1820 as ''Der Lange Verborgene Freund'' (The Long-Hidden Friend) and in two English translations—the first in 1846 in a rather crude translation by Hohman himself ("The Long Secreted Friend or a True and Christian Information for Every Body") and the second in 1856 by a different and more fluent translator ("The Long Lost Friend; a Collection of Mysterious and Invaluable Arts and Remedies for Man as well as Animals"). The name "Pow-Wows" was only added to the book in late 19th century reprints in the wake of the sudden popularity of
Spiritualism
Spiritualism may refer to:
* Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community
* Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...
in the United States, in which "Indian Spirit Guides" were frequently seen during
seances.
In addition to "The Long-Lost-Friend," Hohman also wrote and published, or at least had attributed to him, a number of further books in German, including ''Unsers Herran Jesu Christi Kinderbuch, oder, Merkwurdige Historische Beschreibung Von Joachim Und Anna'' (Our Lord Jesus Christ's Childhood-Book, or, The Strange Historical Description of Joachim and Anna), and ''
Albertus Magnus
Albertus Magnus ( 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great, Albert of Swabia, Albert von Bollstadt, or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop, considered one of the great ...
, oder, Der Lange Verborgene und Getreuer und Christlicher Unterricht fur Jedermann'' (Albertus Magnus, or, Long Lost and True and Christian Instructions for Everyone). The last book attributed to Hohman was published in 1857.
External links
Excerpt from ''The Pennsylvania German Broadside: A History and Guide'' by Don Yoder
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hohman, John George
American occult writers
Year of death missing
Year of birth missing
19th-century occultists