Wittenberg University has a strong historical and religious connection to Martin Luther. His image and mark are all across campus physically and spiritually. This extends to the Hymnal Collection. Beginning in the early twentieth century Wittenberg began to amass an extensive collection of hymnals. This collection is primarily Lutheran, but not exclusive to it. Hymnals that date as early as the 1520s to 1970s. The hymnals are in multiple languages such as; German, Chinese, Welsh, Cherokee, and more. In the spring of 1975, the Hymn Society of America met at Wittenberg University. This meeting spurred on a cataloging project by Wittenberg’s librarians and musicologists, spearheaded by Louis Voigt a librarian to the old theology school. By the meeting in April/May of 1975 they had cataloged 1,084 hymnals in the collection across multiple locations on campus. That catalog is currently accessible in physical pamphlet form as a piece of the collection itself.
Since 1975 the collection has not stopped growing. As it began with generous donations from prominent Lutheran and religious alumni, it continues to grow through donations. The exact scope and size of this collection is not currently known. All items are now in Thomas Library, since the consolidation of libraries on campus, and in Wittenberg’s catalog apart of OPAL. Most of these items are in the special collections room due to their age and fragility, but some are still house in the stacks able to be used freely by students.
This collection was born out of numerous donations from the last century. Some of these donations were just single hymnbooks, some were entire personal collections. The key donations that founded the collection are described by Louis Voigt in the cataloging initiative pamphlet preface in 1975;
“The heart of this group is the private collection of the German church leader and educator Dr. Walter Zimmerman…President Zimmerman presented his own collection of hymnals to Thomas Library, there to support Wittenberg’s program of German musicology. Other unique items in this section have come through the long standing Clara Stroud Memorial Fund, named for the wife of the Rev Charles Stroud, Wittenberg graduate of 1852 and longtime pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Springfield.
Among the early American protestant hymnbooks a major portion of the unique items are the gift of Mrs. Helen Kretchmer Doup. They represent the extensive collecting of her husband, an antiquarian book dealer in Louisville, Kentucky. Other major contributions are from Dr. R. Morris Smith, a Wittenberg professor from 1919 to 1927, and from Professor Elmer F. Blackmer, 1974.”
Creator
Wittenberg Univeristy Special Collections and Archives
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research. Contact Suzanne Smailes for more information
Thousands of hymnal books dated from 1520 to 1970, in languages such as Cherokee, Japanese, Chinese, German, and more.
Voigt, Louis. Hymnbooks at Wittenberg. Springfield, Ohio: Chantry Music Press, 1975. Available in collection and reference stacks of Thomas Library, OPAL Record Link
Metadata for Gallery Above Completed by Megan Bobb in 2015:
1. VN 88 n.d. (Voigt #1070)
Title: Cherokee Hymn Book. Compiled from Several Authors, and Revised.
Publication Date: n.d.
Publication Location: Philadelphia, PA
Publisher: The American Baptist Publication Society
Language: Cherokee
Subject: Hymns and religious songs
Type: Hymnal; Songbook
Size: 13.5 cm
Other Physical Descriptions: Bound in yellow with black spine. Front cover is copy of title page, back cover is a guide to the Cherokee alphabet. Very good condition, spine strong (possibly rebound really well?) and pages secure.
Pagination: 96 pages: 5-91: text; [92]-96: Cherokee alphabet and index
Collation: No collation.
Notes: Catalogued in Voigt.
2. VN 83 1964 (Voigt #1084)
Title: 讃美歌
Translated Title: Sinba-ka (the translation I found is pronounced Sanbika, but this might be a different/older translation?).
Publication Date: 1964
Publication Location: Tokyo, Japan
Publisher: Christian Society Publishing Department
Language: Japanese
Subject: Hymns and religious songs
Type: Hymnal; Songbook
Size: 15.5 cm
Other Physical Descriptions: Bound in soft-cover dark blue with gold stripes framing the title on the front cover. Same design along with title in gold on spine. Dark blue ribbon attached to spine as bookmark. Good condition.
Pagination: Largely unnumbered. 3-4: 序 (introduction); 5: 付記 (note); 6-7: 目次 (table of contents; 8-17: 初行索引 (Hatsugyo? Index); unnumb: text; 交読文目次 (responsive readings table of contents); 1-42: responsive readings; 1-2: acknowledgements
Collation: No collation.
Notes: Catalogued in Voigt.
Contents: See pagination.
3. Collection of Hymns (Nashville)
Title: A Collection of Hymns for Public, Social and Domestic Worship
Author: Methodist Episcopal Church, South
Print/Publication Date: 1855
Print/Publication Location: Nashville, TN
Printer/Publisher: E. Stevenson and F.A. Owen
Language: English
Subject: Hymns and religious songs
Type: Hymnal; Songbook
Size: 8.5 cm
Other Physical Descriptions: Bound in tan cloth, with exposed stitching on edges of spine. Blind stamped floral design and double rule frame on front and back covers. Spine has “Hymns” in gold and blind stamped floral design below it. Spine and back cover nearly separated. No illustrations, frontispieces, etc.
Pagination: 766 pages: [3]-[6]: preface, contents; [7]-738: text; [739]-766: index
Collation: 16° : 216-2316
Notes: Not in Voigt’s bibliography of Hymnals at Wittenberg.
Contents: Part I. Public Worship—Being and Perfections of God—Mediation of Christ—Offices of the Holy Ghost—Institution of Christianity—The Gospel Call—Penitential Exercises—Christian Experience—Death and the Future State—Special Occasions—Part II. Social Worship—Communion of Saints—Prayer—Part III. Domestic Worship—The Family—The Closet—Benedictions and Doxologies
4. VR 68 1866 W 1868 (Voigt #930)
Title: Divine and Moral Songs for Children
Author: Isaac Watts, D.D.
Publication Date: 1868
Publication Location: London/New York, NY
Publisher: Sampson Low, Son, and Marston/Hurd and Houghton
Language: English
Subject: Hymns and religious songs
Type: Hymnal; Songbook; Juvenile songbook
Size: 20 cm
Other Physical Descriptions: Bound in dark green leather? Front cover has “Watts Divine and Moral Songs” in gold surrounded by floral design, and blind stamped frame with florals at corners. Back cover has same designs and lettering, only it’s all blind stamped. Spine has a lot of gold design, with Watt’s Divine and Moral Songs in the middle (green – the gilt creates negative space for the title). Half-title verso is some sort of printer’s device or seal. Name Richard Clay, in the middle. Frontispiece is portrait of author in elaborate design. Title page is framed by illustration. Black and white etched? Illustrations. All images black and white. Also decorative letters. Spine separating, some pages loose or separate from text block.
Pagination: 116 pages: 7-10: preface; 11-12: preface to present edition; 13-14: contents; 15-[18]: list of illustrations; 21-[116]: text
Collation: 4°: B4-P2
5. VN 57 1939 (Voigt #1081)
Title: Himnos de la Vida Cristiana: Una Coleccion de antiguos y nuevos Himnos de Alabanza a Dios. Quinta Edicion.
Translated Title: Hymns of the Christian life: A collection of old and new hymns of praise to God. Fifth edition.
Author: Christian and Missionary Alliance
Publication Date: c1939
Publication Location: New York, New York
Publisher: Christian and Missionary Alliance
Language: Spanish
Subject: Hymns and religious songs
Type: Hymnal; Songbook
Size: 21 cm
Other Physical Descriptions: Bound in brown leather? Some has worn off to reveal a blue cloth binding underneath. Looks like the brown covering was added by a previous owner. No illustrations beyond the decorative frame on the title page, but there’s extensive marginalia. Names, and some notes on the back endpapers.
Pagination: 320 pages: [1]-[302]: text; 303-314: lecturas antifonales (antiphonal readings); 315-316: indice topical de los himnos (topical index of hymns); 317-320: indice alfabetico de los himnos (alphabetical index of hymns)
Collation: No collation.
Notes: There are some personal papers included with this, including notes, a small book, and a personalized certificate of baptism for Gladys Tormes, dated April 19, 1953.