Notice to CPH and CHI (Concordia Publishing / Concordia Historical Institute)

      The following is a formal notice addressed especially to Concordia Publishing House, but also to Concordia Historical Institute.  My intention is to publish on this blog (for free) the following previously translated (into English) historical works on the old (German) Missouri Synod.  These translations have been completed long ago but have, for whatever reason, been withheld long enough (far too long) from wide availability to Lutherans of America.  There is no good reason why these were not published long ago, for they breathe a spirit of true historical theology, true Church History.  At times these old authors have been severely questioned by historians and theologians of the LC-MS. That is certainly not a good reason. These works are:

• Christian Hochstetter's A History of the Evangelical Lutheran Missouri Synod in North America and her Doctrinal Controversies  from the Time of the Saxon Emigration  in the Year 1838 until the Year 1884, translated by Walter J. Plischke and Fred Kramer, 1983 (1885 German original).  The following notice was printed on the title page of this manuscript: "© 2005 Concordia Historical Institute".
• Johann Friedrich Köstering's (Koestering) The Emigration of the Saxon Lutherans in the Year 1838…, translated by Pastor Walter J. Plischke in 1978 (1867 German original)
• C. F. W. Walther's Brief Biography of the Late Venerable Pastor John Frederick Buenger, translated by Karl W. Keller in 1973 (1882 German original)

 It is my intention to not only provide free digital access to these works, but also:

1. the full German text in a polished format (perhaps keyed to the English translation),
2. an historical background of each item and in some cases of the translators,
3. hyperlinks to their references, original pages in German, and some of their terms.  

I will show where the LC-MS has questioned the value of these histories and the judgments rendered in them by their authors.  Then these objections and criticisms will be refuted. There are a few notable exceptions to these objections from the LC-MS and I will note these as well.

      If however Concordia Publishing has, in good faith, the full intention of bringing any (or all) of these works to "ink on paper" soon, I will at least delay my publications.  And if they are convincing enough, I will reverse my plans.  I would be happy to furnish to CPH/CHI, at no charge, my work of hundreds of hours of extracting, proofing, and polishing what I have of these works for digital publication.
      So even though CPH may have some idea of exercising a legal claim of copyright, I will claim they have forfeited that right by their negligence lasting many decades.  In some cases, I would suggest the negligence extends beyond a century.
      There are precedents for my action as I have already published in 2015 Pastor Donald E. Heck's translation of Walther's sermons Year of Grace [fixed link].  And last year the complete Epistle Sermons of C.F.W. Walther translated by Pastor Heck were published on my blog.  So they will know I am serious about my intentions.  Although CPH has previously exercised their right of copyright against me, they have not (so far) taken any action against me on these two major sermon books of Walther/Heck.

     There are yet great histories remaining to be translated, as far as I know:

• Martin Guenther's Dr. C. F. W. Walther: Lebensbild, 1890
• J. F. Koestering's Leben und Wirken des Ehrw. Ernst Gerhard Wilh. Keyl, 1882.
• C. J. Hermann Fick's other works here and here
• ... and others.

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      When do I plan to start releasing these free digital productions?  In the next few months or so…  You, Concordia Publishing or Concordia Historical Institute, have a little time yet to contact me.  After that, these works will no longer cry out to be published, they will be freely available to the world.
      Oh, what treasures I have found!… "more treasures than I knew existed in the training of my youth"!  I cannot stand to see them hidden any longer. (Neither would Prof. Fred Kramer)  The Lutheran Church in America (and the world) cries out for them... indeed, this blog is viewed regularly from around the world.