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.

Reformation-era Woodcut collection

This collection contains the following woodcuts: Hans Schäufelein (approximately 1480-1539), colorized woodcut, Christ's farewell from the holy women. The farewell from the holy women was a common motif in 16th centurt art. The woodcut was taken from a 16th century devotional work by the Nuremberg doctor and publisher Ulrich Pinder: Speculum passionis Domini Nostri Ihesu Christi In ciuitate imp[er]iali Nurenbergen: Bene visum & impressum finit feliciter [Udalricus Pinder] (1507). Hans Schäufelein (approximately 1480-1539), colorized woodcut, The Scourging of Christ. The woodcut was taken from a 16th century devotional work by the Nuremberg doctor and publisher Ulrich Pinder: Speculum passionis Domini Nostri Ihesu Christi In ciuitate imp[er]iali Nurenbergen: Bene visum & impressum finit feliciter [Udalricus Pinder] (1507). Sebastian Münster (1489-1552) colorized woodcut, Ierusalem ciuitas sancta, olim metropolis regni Iudaici, hodie uero colonia Turcae. Map of Jerusalem by the German cartographer, cosmographer and foremost Christian Hebraist scholar of his time, Sebastian Münster. He published his Cosmographia in 1544 from which this map was excerpted. It was the earliest German description of the world and had a profound impact on the 16th century European perception of the modern world. The place names are in German, but the descriptive text is in Latin. Printed by Heinrich Petri (1508-1579). Sebastian Münster (1489-1552) woodcut, Wittenberg in Obern Sachsen. A view of Wittenberg by Sebastian Münster. On the reverse side is a woodcut of a jousting battle scene. This image is excerpted from a later edition of Münster's Cosmographia, which was printed in 1572 by Heinrich Petri (1508-1579). Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515-1586) woodcut, Elector John Frederick the Magnanimous with Book and Crucifix. Portrait of John Frederick (Johann Friedrich) reading a book and praying before a crucifix. Frederick was a leader of the Schmalkaldic League and fought for Luther's cause against the Imperial troops. The league was defeated in the Battle of Muehlberg in April of 1547. Frederick was wounded by a slash across his left cheek, captured, condemned to death, but ultimately pardoned and reinstated as duke in Weimar. After 1547, however, the electoral power had fallen to the rivalling Albertinian line of the dynasty residing in Dresden. The print depicts Frederick with the scar on his cheek. The book contains the words, "Hilf Got[t]" (help me God). Cranach marked the woodcut plate with his device and dated it to 1552, but the broadsheet in its current manifestation was printed in 1557. Franz Friedrich (active 1550-1583) woodcut, Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg Kneeling before a Crucifix. Portrait of Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg kneeling before a crucifix. This woodcut likely originated as a broadsheet since there are no signs of letterpress on the back. The same woodcut appeared in Gabriel Schnellboltz' Wahrhafftige Bildnisse etlicher Fuersten (Wittenberg, 1562) and the Augspurgische Confession (Frankfurt an der Oder:, Eichorn, 1572). Franz Friedrich was a goldsmith and engraver active in Frankfurt an der Oder from 1550-1583. Cut by Peter Hille, a woodcutter active in Frankfurt an der Oder from 1550/1560 until his death in 1574. Woodcut, Des Ehrwirdigen Herrn Doctoris Martini Lutheri, gottseligen, Triumph, und Verantwortung, wider die gottlosen Schmehschrifft, der newen Münch, der Jesuiter, welche sie vnter dem Titel, Anatomia Lutheri, ausgesprenget haben : Aus dem Latein in deudsche Vers durch den Poeten selbst verfasset. Single sheet woodcut depicting Pope Leo X on a throne that is about to topple. Behind him are priests and monks and below them a group of Jesuits, who are trying to support the toppling throne. Leo's key, the symbol of the Petrine office is crumbling in the pope's hands. Facing Leo is Martin Luther holding an open Bible. Below him is a group of reformers led by Philipp Melanchthon, each holding a book (Bible). In the center below Leo is Friedrich Staphylus depicted as Judas Iscariot. Staphylus was a student of Philipp Melanchthon's, who rejoined the Catholic Church in 1553. Published in Wittemberg, 1568(?). Urs Graf (approximately 1485-approximately 1527), Two colorized woodcuts taken from a 1506 harmony of the Gospel texts of the Passion, edited by Matthias Ringmann, translated by Geiler von Keysersberg and printed by Johann Knobloch in Strasbourg. The first woodcut depicts Christ in the garden of Gethsemane and the second shows Christ carrying his cross. Strasbourg : Johann Knobloch, 1506.