Johannes Ernst (sometimes Ernestus) Spangenberg (1755–1814) was an American fraktur artist.
Most of his pieces were created for children in the vicinities of Easton and Greenwich Township, Sussex County, New Jersey, on the other side of the Delaware River; he also worked in Nockamixon Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
[1] By profession a schoolmaster, Spangenberg was a resident of Easton along with his wife, Elizabeth Blantz, with whom he had eleven children.
For many years Spangenberg's name was unknown, until he was identified by Smithsonian Institution curator Monroe Fabian.
[2] A unique feature of his work is the depiction, in many of his pieces, of musicians carrying and playing their instruments.