John George Hohman (also spelled Johann Georg Hohman, and his surname sometimes misspelled as Hoffman), who was active between 1802 and 1846, was a German-American

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

book seller Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librari ...

and compiler of collections of

herbal remedies Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies ...

, 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 Charm may refer to: Social science * Charisma, a person or thing's pronounced ability to attract others * Superficial charm, flattery, telling people what they want to hear Science and technology * Charm quark, a type of elementary particle * Ch ...

. He immigrated to the USA from Germany in 1802, settled in the area around Reading, Pennsylvania, in the Pennsylvania Dutch community, where he printed and sold broadsides,

chapbooks A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch. In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered booklet ...

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 music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

magic and

folk religion In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized re ...

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. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or pu ...

. 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 is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and Mind-body dualism, dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (w ...

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 (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his li ...

, 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