Mary Cist

Mary Cist ran the press of her husband Charles (or Carl) Cist in Philadelphia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Cists published some of the earliest German language texts to be printed in North America. Printers like Cist played an important role in maintaining the connection between immigrant communities and their languages and cultures. Her print work circulated amongst the German community in Philadelphia and was well enough received to support her and her family.

The copy of Delaware Indian and English spelling book: for the schools of the mission of the United Brethren, included in this exhibition, suggests that she aligned at least a portion of her work with her Moravian faith. This text also demonstrates one facet in which women printers engaged with the colonial project. Cist’s work not only strove to maintain her culture within the local community, but also to enforce their Christian ideals within the area of the United States as a whole.