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.

Albertus Dei et Apostolice Sedis gratia Maguntinen[sis] [sic] et Magdeburgen[sis] Archiepiscop[us] ac Halberstaten[sis] ecclesiar[m] Administrator, Germanie Primas ... Indulgence

Indulgences were issued to defray the cost of building the basilica of St. Peter in Rome. Their distribution was often linked to the sacrament of penance, as believers were granted spiritual merits in exchange for financial donations. This particular indulgence, believed to be the only specimen of its kind thus far recovered, was issued specifically to clergy, granting them liturgical benefits in exchange for their contributions. The printing of this indulgence was probably ordered by Johann Tetzel himself and carried out by Melchior Lotter, the Elder, who was also to print an edition of Luther's ninety-five theses. This is the only copy of this edition of this indulgence recovered. J. Tetzel was responsible for the printing of 11 indulgences, issued in 15 editions. This copy was found within a book binding dated 1530, serving as an end paper, by the German bibliographer and Reformation scholar Fritz Beyer in 1937.