Skip to product information
rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago
  • rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago
  • rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago
  • rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago
  • rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago
  • rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago
  • rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago
  • rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago
  • rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago
  • rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago
  • rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago
rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago

rare and all original late nineteenth century collection of artifacts including cornerstone with time capsule and contents salvaged from a non-extant evangelical church in west chicago

SKU: UR-24007-16
Bld. 51 Museum Collection
exceptionally rare and nearly intact c. 1888 combination of cornerstone fragment and accompanying time capsule unearthed from the non-extant holy bethel church at adams and damen in chicago, il. this very unique set of artifacts records or recreates the salvaged foundation deposit as well as the context in which it was discovered. the partial cornerstone includes the crude slab of limestone that was used to cap the cavity alongside cleaned tin box containing a repository of paperwork placed during the cornerstone ceremony in november 1888, and business cards placed on the outside of the box. the weathered metal container contains a lock and painted striped border on top. the contents of the capsule were largely exposed to the elements, and exhibit various stages of wear, with some molding or disintegration. these include more than 10 pieces of church-related ephemera, in various condition: a pamphlet titled "proceedings of the 44th annual session of the illinois conference in elgin, il", a cloth bound bible, a pamphlet on "the doctrines and discipline of the evangelical association," a heavily molded book of evangelical hymns, the year's june issue of the christian family almanac, august through november issues of "our visitor" (the monthly church newsletter), a newspaper titled "the evangelical messenger" published in cleveland, ohio , november 1888 (by lauer & matill, vol 41 no 47), a manual of the evangelical church at 786 1/2 west madison street published by the missionary society (stewart & co., printers, 109 wabash ave), the november issue of the evangelical messenger in german (vol 53, no 47), and several faded handwritten pages. the cornerstone itself was cut and carved by p. kempe & company, according to the business card left resting against the box when the stone's cavity was initially accessed. in nineteenth century america cornerstone capsules are associated with freemasonry, and victorian commemorations of time. the ritual has many dimensions (especially in churches and other sacred spaces), the symbolic significance of cornerstones being that the first stone set in construction determines the position of the entire structure; the cornerstone is usually inscribed with the construction date, and/or names of significant individuals, and besides being engraved, most often contain a cavity in which a capsule or foundation deposit is placed, containing newspapers of the day or week, and other artifacts like coins, books, and business cards tossed in by people integral to the construction. measures 12 x 23 1/2 x 16 inches

Please Note: We do not appraise, nor disclose prices of items sold. No Exceptions.

Questions? Click on Contact Us below. Please make sure to reference the UR# when contacting us.

 Contact Us

You may also like