New catalog documents CHI’s Reformation exhibit

A new, 56-page catalog — “Pressed into Service by the Word of God” — documents Concordia Historical Institute’s exhibit of 24 rare books, 152 rare coins and other vintage Martin Luther and Reformation items. (Concordia Historical Institute)

An exhibition of 24 rare books and 152 rare coins and medals from the Reformation era is documented in a new full-color catalog from Concordia Historical Institute (CHI).

The CHI exhibit on the campus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, “Pressed into Service by the Word of God,” also features colorful Reformation “notgeld” (emergency money) from the 1920s and other vintage Martin Luther and Reformation items, including porcelain, smoking pipes, plaques, statues and artwork. Photos of these items are included in the catalog, along with more detailed information about the books, coins and medals.

“The Lutheran Reformation employed not only the printing press but also the coin press in broadcasting the rediscovered Word of God throughout Europe and beyond,” explains CHI Executive Director Rev. Dr. Daniel Harmelink.

The catalog offers a way, he adds, “to share these historical treasures with a national and international audience — with those who are unable to travel to St. Louis and view this very special exhibit in person.”

The exhibit opened Feb. 18, 2017, and runs through Nov. 10 of this year (Martin Luther’s birthday). But the catalog of “hand-selected historical rarities can continue to inform and inspire,” even after the exhibit ends, Harmelink notes.

Only 500 copies of the 56-page catalog were printed, and each is signed by Harmelink and numbered. To order the catalog ($8, plus $3 for shipping and handling), call CHI at 314-505-7900. Discounts for quantity purchases are available.

For more information about CHI — the Synod’s Department of Archives and History and the largest archive of Lutheran history in North America — visit its website at concordiahistoricalinstitute.org.

“Pressed into Service by the Word of God” is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays at CHI’s Museum Exhibit Hall, 804 Seminary Place, Clayton, Mo.

Posted March 26, 2018