The Forbidden Book That Survived the Fire
A rare, centuries-old volume of Martin Luther’s 'Table Talk' was miraculously salvaged from the ashes of the Great Seattle Fire, having been smuggled across the ocean and hidden away by generations to escape religious persecution.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
In the course of their examination, the auctioneer picked up a small volume, wrapped in strong brown paper that had been carefully tied with twine and worn on all sides. This volume was a copy of Martin Luther’s 'Table Talk'. It had evidently been handled by the great-grandfather to escape the penalty of an edict issued by Pope Gregory XIII, making it death for anyone to possess the work. The loss of this book would have been a great misfortune, for within it we see the character of the great reformer as he was when surrounded by his family and his friends.
“The loss of this book would have been a great misfortune, for within it we see the character of the great reformer as he was when surrounded by his family and his friends.”
The Great Seattle Fire of 1889 leveled the city, yet historical artifacts like this German religious text reveal the immigrant stories and hidden histories that survived the blaze. Just as this book was preserved through generations of secrecy, modern Seattle continues to grapple with what it chooses to archive and what is lost to rapid urban development.
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