Lapp, Henry

Pennsylvania Dutch folk artist. Born deaf on a farm at Groff's Store (now Mascot), PA; became a carpenter, producing many pieces of typically Amish furniture, but his designs were generally less decorated than the usual Amish style and often used painted, non-typical Amish color schemes. He used colored sketches in a small notebook as a kind of catalog for his customers, to overcome the communication problems. He also ran a paint and hardware store near Bird-in-Hand, PA. Died from lead poisoning. A color reproduction of his "catalog", with notes, has been published as A Craftsman's Handbook (1991).