Luther College Collections

Archives

The Luther College archives holds primary source material of enduring value related to the college, its faculty, alumni and founding congregations. Over 1,800 linear feet of institutional records, personal papers, photographs, and other media are available for research projects, curricula development, and special events. The archives endowment fund provides additional support for special projects. The reading room is located on the third floor of Preus Library. Rachel Vagts is the college archivist.

http://archives.luther.edu

Luther College Concert Band Poster
Luther College Archives, 1954

Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections

Koren Center and Preus Library house a rich collection of archaeological materials and an extensive ethnographic collection. The archaeological collection consists of more than a million prehistoric and historic artifacts from nearly 400 Native American and Euro-American sites in Iowa and the Upper Midwest. Of particular interest are materials from northeast Iowa sites collected by the late Gavin Sampson of Decorah. The Sampson collection is a significant resource for research on northeast Iowa prehistory. The ethnographic collection consists of nearly a thousand artifacts collected from living cultures around the world between the 1880s and 1920s. The majority of the items are representative of Native American cultures, including Inuit (Eskimo), Sioux, Mandan, Pueblo, Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), Chippewa, Seminole, and Northwest Coast peoples. Other ethnographic materials present in the collection are from Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania. The archaeological and ethnographic collections are supported in part by an endowed fund established for the purpose of managing and maintaining a material culture resource for the Luther College community, for education outreach services for the community at large, and for use by outside professionals and students engaged in scholarly research.

http://anthro.luther.edu/Collections.htm

Contemporary Reindeer Shoes from the Saami People.
Ethnographic Collection

Fine Arts Collection

Over 1,200 items comprise the Luther
College Fine Arts Collection, anchored by extensive holdings representing the works of Herbjørn Gausta, Marguerite Wildenhain, and Gerhard Marcks. Nearly one-third of the collection, which is housed in Preus Library, is on circulating display throughout the campus. Management of the collection
is supported, in part, by two endowments (for support and acquisitions respectively).

The Fine Arts Collection is supervised by circulation-special collections librarian, Jane Kemp.

http://finearts.luther.edu

Geology Collection

Several thousand rock, mineral and fossil specimens are contained within the geological collection. The core collection was originally part of the Norwegian-American Museum, returned to the college in 1972. Other notable specimens include the Ellison Orr collection of fossils; rocks and minerals donated by potter, Marguerite Wildenhain; the Wallace Skarshaug fossil collection; specimens donated by curator Jean Young and a collection of Cold Water Cave photos by Jerry Grier. Currently, work is focused on the Amel Priest collection donated by the Madison County Historical Society.

Specimens from this collection are on rotating and permanent display in Valders Hall of Science. The bulk of the collection is housed in Preus Library. Jean Young serves as the Curator of the collection.

http://geology.luther.edu