Item set
Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection
Full Metadata
Title
Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection
Abstract
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.
Description
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.
See Also
Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection (Emory Digital Collections)
Items
12 resources
12 items
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Still imageDaniel's Vision of the Four Beasts
Date1536CollectionCopyrightNO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATESA woodcut of the four beasts which appeared to Daniel in a vision. Each beast represented a different kingdom. -
Still imageDas Munchkalb zu Freyberg
Date1523CollectionCopyrightNO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATESA woodcut depicting the Monk-Calf of Freyberg, which was born with a tonsure-like irregularity on its head, resembling the common hairstyle of a Catholic monk. -
Still imageDas erst general - inhaltend die beschzeibung [und] den [circtel] des gantzen erdtreichs und m[o]rcs.
Date1550CollectionCopyrightNO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATESA map of the world including latitude and longitude markers. Personifications of the winds are depicted withing croulds surrounding the map and various monstrous creatures are depicted within the oceans. -
TextDecem praecepta Witte[n]berge[n]si praedicata populo
Luther, Martin, 1483-1546Date1518CollectionCopyrightNO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATESSummary: The sermons on which this commentary on the Ten Commandments is based were delivered in Wittenberg in 1516-1517. This is the first work of Luther's to be translated into a modern European language. This is the first printing of the work. -
Still imageDer Bapstesel zu Rom
Date1523CollectionCopyrightNO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATESA woodcut depicting the "Papal Ass," a monster purported to have been pulled from the Tiber in Rome as a portent of the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. -
Still imageDie neuwen Inseln - so hinder Hispanien gegen Orient bey dem land Indic ligen.
Date1550CollectionCopyrightNO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATESA map of the western hemisphere, identified as the New World, and the western coast of Asia. A spanish style galleon ship is depicted sailing in the Pacific ocean, and a rough shelter built of sticks featureing a dismembered leg is depicted in the general region of Brazil with the label, "Canibali". -
Still imageGespängst der bösen geist
Date1550CollectionCopyrightNO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATESA woodcut depicting a hairy, bipedal beast, labeled as the "spook of the evil ghost," which is found in a vast desert beyond India in the land of Cathay. This type of ghost is said to lead travellers astray by mimicking the voices of their travelling companions. -
Still imageMap of the Four Beasts from Daniel's Vision
Date1542CollectionCopyrightNO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATESA woodcut depicting the four beasts described in Daniel's vision placed on a map, one each in Europe and Africa, and two in Asia. The beasts are placed in such a way that they surround the holy land. -
Still imagePtolemaisch general [catel] - [...] greiffend die halbe fugel der weldt.
Date1550CollectionCopyrightNO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATESA map of the world with latitude and longitude markers as it was known during the Ptolemaic period, including mountain ranges and rivers and spanning from Europe, to central Africa, and over to India. Personifications of the winds are depicted within the clouds surrounding the map. -
Still imageSieben Köpffe Martini Luthers vom hochwirdigen Sacrament des Altars
Date1529CollectionCopyrightNO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATESA woodcut depicting Martin Luther as a seven-headed monster, critiquing his deviation from Catholicism. Each head is labeled (from left to right): Doctor, Martinus, Luther, Ecclesiast, Schwirmer [Schwärmer], Visitieter, and Barrabas. This was a classic piece of Catholic propaganda, portraying Luther not only as a Doctor and Churchman, but as a Turk, a wild enthusiast (Schwarmer) and "Barrabas." -
Still imageThe Beast from the Sea
Date1564CollectionCopyrightNO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATESA woodcut of the first Beast mentioned in Revelations, which emerged from the sea. It has seven heads and ten horns. -
Still imageThe Beasts from the Sea and Earth
Date1560CollectionCopyrightNO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATESA woodcut of the two beasts mentioned in Revelations. On the right, is the seven-headed beast from the sea. On the hill in the background is the "lamb-horned" beast from the earth.