On this day-after a historically momentous Reformation Day (and All Saints’ Day), I learned a fun fact about one of the saints the Lutheran Church honors.
The world’s oldest still-working pocket watch belonged to Philip Melanchthon. Huh!
Pocket watches first took off in the 16th century, and were manufactured in Germany, so it makes sense that some of our Reformer friends would own one. It bears the inscription (in German): “Philip Melanchthon- To God alone the glory. 1530.” The spherical shape apparently suggests manufacture in Nuremberg.
Cool!
Here’s the real kicker– apparently this very watch is in the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore. My all-time favorite museum! I was just there a few years ago (I grew up in Baltimore and am living in Canada now), and never knew it was supposed to be there. Shucks!
