Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection
The Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection was established in 1987, when Richard and Martha Kessler donated their private collection of Reformation imprints and manuscripts to Emory University. These materials were combined with Reformation holdings at the Pitts Theology Library, and an effort was launched to enlarge and sustain this collection in the years to come. An advisory committee of Lutheran laypersons and clergy and of Candler School of Theology faculty and administrators oversees the nurture of the collection and its programs. The Reformation Notes newsletter provides semiannual updates on the growth of the collection, and the Reformation Day at Emory program of music and lectures each October celebrates the collection and its contributions to music, history, and theology. In the sixteenth century the social and theological movements of central Europe, known collectively as the Reformation, critically shaped religion, law, education and other institutions in the West, and their long shadow has extended even to the present. The purpose of the Kessler Collection is to document these changes by collecting print and manuscript materials down to 1570 by Martin Luther (1483-1546) and those whom he influenced or engaged in debate. In this way historians and theologians will be able to hear the full range of voices that were raised in this dynamic period. The holdings of the collection now exceed 4,000 items, a mark approximated by only two other libraries in North America; no American library approaches the Kessler Collection's 1,000+ publications by Luther himself.
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Still imageInitial letter with Moses delivering his farewell
Lemberger, Georg, 1495?-1540?A woodcut initial letter "D" illustrated with the scene of Moses delivering his farewell discourse while God looks down from Heaven. Moses is depicted with horns, a common practice in Western art before the Renaissance. -
Still imageInitial letter with Moses kneeling before God
Lemberger, Georg, 1495?-1540?A woodcut initial letter "U" depicting Moses praying before God in Heaven, who is holding a globus cruciger. Moses is here depicted with horns, which was common before the Renaissance. The shape of the "U" includes two cherubs atop pillars and a bound bird. -
Still imageInitial letter with a sheep on an altar
Lemberger, Georg, 1495?-1540?A woodcut initial letter "U" depicting a woman and a man kneeling before an altar with a sheep on it. The bottom and right curve of the "U" is made from the image of a dragon. -
Still imagePriestly Garments
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553A woodcut depicting a preist dressed in the vestments described in Exodus 28, including an elaborate ephod and/or breastpiece, a long robe decorated with pomegranates and bells, and a decorated turban. -
Still imageTabernacle Court Layout
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553A woodcut depicting the full layout of the Tabernacle court, including the altar of burnt offerings, the bronze laver, and the inner tent with the table, lampstand, altar of incense, and the Ark of the Covanent. -
Still imageTabernacle's Inner Curtain
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553A woodcut depicting one of the inner curtains of the Tabernacle, decorated with cherubim in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and displayed in the Tabernacle courtyard. -
Still imageTabernacle Frame
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553A woodcut depicting the acacia wood frames with silver bases for the tabernacle. -
Still imageLampstand and Table with Bread of Presence
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553A woodcut depicting the lampstand, table, and bread of presence surrounded by plates, jugs, and bowls. -
Still imageArk of the Covenant and Altar of Incense
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553A woodcut depicting the Ark of the Covanent with its lid decorated with two cherubim, and the Altar of Incense with a chalice of burning incense placed on it. -
Still imageAltar of Burnt Offerings and Bronze Laver
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553A woodcut depicting the bronze laver for priestly washing (top), the altar of burnt offering made of acacia wood with four horns on its four corners (center), and the bronze implements for tending the altar (bottom). -
Still imageInitial letter with the transfigured Christ
Lemberger, Georg, 1495?-1540?A woodcut initial letter "D" depicting Jesus Christ transfigured in the presence of Peter, James, and John. -
Still imageJoseph interprets Pharaoh's Dream
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553A woodcut depicting Joseph beside Pharaoh's bedside (top) explaining the meaning of his dream of seven fat and seven lean cows, and seven good and seven lean stalks, represents seven years of feast and famine that will come to Egypt. -
Still imageJacob's Dream
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553A woodcut depicting God blessing Jacob as he dreams, represented by three angels descending/ascending a ladder linking Heaven and Earth. Above the woodcut is a section of handwritten marginalia. -
Still imageSacrifice of Isaac
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553A woodcut depicting Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a show of faith to God and being stopped by an angel, who provides a ram (center left) for sacrifice in Isaac's place. -
Still imageNoah's Ark surviving the flood
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553A woodcut depicting Noah's Ark (Der Kaste Noe) safe and afloat amidst the torential rains (center). At the bottom of the image there is a field of fallen trees and dead people and animals left behind by the receeding waters. in the top left of the image there is a dove carrying an olive branch, signalling the receeding of the waters. -
Still imageInitial letter with God creating the world
Lemberger, Georg, 1495?-1540?A woodcut initial letter "A" depicting God creating the world. the arch of the "A" is made from a bent over plam tree. -
Still imagePrinter's Device of Melchior Lotter
A woodcut printer's device of Melchior Lotter featuring a crest depicting the Brazen Serpent wrapped around a cross. -
Still imageInitial letter with Moses delivering his farewell
Lemberger, Georg, 1495?-1540?A woodcut initial letter "D" illustrated with the scene of Moses delivering his farewell discourse while God looks down from Heaven. Moses is depicted with horns, a common practice in Western art before the Renaissance. -
Still imageHistoriated title page border of Luther's German translation of the Old Testament
Lemberger, Georg, 1495?-1540?A woodcut border to Luther's German translation of the Old Testament printed in 1523. The border is composed of one woodcut depicting an architectural arch supported by four columns, a gathering of cherubs (top and sides), and a group of worshipers (?) around a crucified Christ (bottom). -
Still imagePrinter's Device of Martin Landsberg
A woodcut depicting the printer's device of Martin Landsberg. The mark consists of two shields, one with what could be a stylized ox or cow head and a star (left) and the second with a city by a river (right). Per Davies in "Devices of the Early Printers, Vol. 9, pg. 196, "The town represented is on mounds in the former; here water seems to be indicated. If the allusion was originally to "Land" and "Berg", it is therefore now lost." -
Still imageHistoriated title page of Wolfgang Wulffer's pamphlet calling Luther a false prophet
A woodcut border on the title page of Wolfgang Wulffer's pamphlet against Luther, calling him a "false prophet." The border is composed of a single woodcut depicting cherubs (top and sides), dragons (top left and right), and a man reclining while wearing a hood with pointed ears (bottom).