NEWMAN PORTAL: JOHN MAX WULFING EXHIBIT

John Max Wulfing's Passport to the Past Exhibit Opens August 5, 2026

John Max Wulfing was born in 1859 to Charles and Hermine (Diekriede) Wulfing in St. Louis, MO. He was educated in both the United States and Germany before entering the family business and becoming a third-generation wholesale grocer in St. Louis. The wealth accumulated through his business success enabled Wulfing to engage in local philanthropy through Park Unity Church and to support German relief efforts and academic causes following World War I. His personal interests focused on archaeology and the classics.

Wulfing is best known for his ancient coin collection, which was donated in 1928 and forms the nucleus of the Wulfing Collection at Washington University in St. Louis. Less known is the substantial collection of Native American artifacts, Japanese tsuba (sword guards), and books that Wulfing collected until his death in 1929. Wulfing added many objects to his collections during his travels across the United States, Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. This exhibition highlights some of those travels and the items he acquired along the way. To Wulfing, these were not just objects, but lenses into past times and cultures that served as invaluable teaching aids.

The John Max Wulfing's Passport to the Past exhibition opens August 5 in the Newman Tower exhibit space in Olin Library at Washington University in St. Louis. This exhibit is guest curated by Jeremy Haag.

Image: Athenian tetradrachm from the Wulfing Collection, WC 225.

Link to WashU Wulfing exhibit announcement:
https://library.washu.edu/exhibitions/wulfings-passport/

Link to "The John Max Wulfing Collection" on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai2K6Hgemmw&t=8s

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web