Irmensula Lutheri, oder Ehren-Gedächtnüss des Grossen Lutheri in der ausführlichen Beschreibung. - [LUTHER'S BIRTHPLACE]

Leipzig, in Verlegung des Authoris, 1693. Folio. In contemporary black silk covered boards. Paper-label pasted on to upper part of spine. Wear to extremities, missing parts of spine. Boards, primarily front board, with holes and tears to the black silk. Front end-papers with miscolouring. With marignal miscolouring throughout. Star, windows and Luther's portrait on the plate highlighted with gold. 16 ff., [1 blank] + 1 double-page plate of Luther's house.

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The rare first edition of this work on Luther’s birthplace and how it was bult. It quickly became a place of workship but was on private hand up until 1689. By the end of the 17th century the house fell into disrepair and a tavern was opened. The Eisleben magistrate disliked the appearance of the house and decided to have a wooden plaque depicting Luther taken down. Shortly after the building burned down and after a large city fire in 1689, the magistrate forced the owner Marie Friedrich to sell the house to the city by denying her the usual reconstruction loans. Luther was born in this house in 1483 and gave his last sermon and died here in 1546.