On the Shelf: New items added to Center for Restoration Studies collections, July 2021

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In July our colleagues in Technical Services and Cataloging added over 130 items to the Center for Restoration Studies collections and 25 new items to the Taylor Hymnal Collection.  Some of the additions are newly published, others are new-to-us, and still others represent a second copy or a new-to-us edition or printing.  Several of the entries this month are of tracts and pamphlets and several more are for periodical titles for which we have unbound issues.  The work on unbound periodical issues continues (some titles have just a few issues, others several boxes worth) and the resumption of work on tracts is a great boon.  We have over 1000 tracts already foldered and cataloged, with another 2000 or so foldered and ready for cataloging.  When this is complete we will tackle the backlog of tracts and booklets…several boxes worth.  I anticipate very few of these will be held by any other institution, so the original cataloging will see an uptick in coming months.  We already have a student worker working in advance sorting the backlogged boxes.  When the catalogers are ready, we will be ready as well.  I hope that future installments of this monthly post will include many more tracts, pamphlets and booklets.  While these are too slim or small to stand on a shelf, they are a significant witness to Restoration thought.

Abilene Christian College. Prickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1952, yearbook, 1952; Abilene, Texas. University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.

Our goal is to build a comprehensive research-level collection of print materials by, for, and about the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement.  But beyond assembly and preservation, a collection should be discoverable by those who need the information.  Collecting and preserving is only part of our task; those objects must be described and made available.  Thanks to the close and careful work of our colleagues upstairs, who describe our holdings, these materials are now discoverable. By discoverable I mean a patron can utilize our online catalog (such as by searching by author, or title, or subject) to find these materials.

159 new items…cataloged, shelved, and ready for research:  Continue reading →

Finding Aid Round Up

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We’ve been busy writing finding aids for recent acquisitions and revising finding aids for sets of papers already in our holdings. You can browse all of our collections on DigitalCommons. See something below that piques your interest or could be useful for your research? Get in touch and let us know what you’re thinking about; we’d love to help!

Charles H. Marler Papers, 1825-2013, MS#123 [Revised Finding Aid]
Dr. Charlie Marler is professor emeritus of journalism and mass communication who taught full-time at ACU from 1955-2003, one of the longest tenures for a faculty member in his alma mater’s history. (Biographical note from ACU Today website: acu.today/author/marlerc/) The Charles H. Marler Papers include 11 boxes of materials documenting his work as a journalist, professor, and church member. The papers include his extensive research files on Frank Grimes and Alexander Campbell, among others. Dr. Marler’s involvement in University Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas, and West Islip in New York are also represented in these papers. Finally, there are teaching materials and campus involvement documents from events such as the Abilene Christian University Centennial included in Dr. Marler’s papers.

University Church of Christ Directory, Box 5, Charles H. Marler Papers,
1825-2013. Center for Restoration Studies MS #123. Abilene Christian University Special
Collections and Archives, Brown Library. Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX.

Ancel Edward Nunn Collection, 2002, MS#406 [Revised Finding Aid]
Ancel Edward Nunn was born in 1928. He lived in Abilene where he graduated from high school in 1946 before joining the U. S. Army. He was a skilled artist who studied at an early age under artists such as Alexander Hogue and Dong Kingman. He was known for using egg tempera and acrylic in his work. He lived throughout Texas and his work is held in many public and private collections. He died in 1999. This collection includes a leather-bound collection of Ancel Edward Nunn’s lithographs.

Edwin Randall “Randy” Becton Papers, 1970-2012, MS#458 [Revised Finding Aid]
Edwin Randall “Randy” Becton (1944-2015) served in Churches of Christ and various ministries throughout the United States. This collection consists of articles, notes, speeches, publications, and correspondence related to Highland Church of Christ, Herald of Truth, Abilene Christian University, Pepperdine University, Care Ministry, and Cancer Ministry.

“To the Praise of His Glory,” Box 6, Edwin Randall “Randy”
Becton Papers, 1970-2012. Center for Restoration Studies MS #458. Abilene Christian
University Special Collections and Archives, Brown Library. Abilene Christian University,
Abilene, TX.

Fifth and Grape Church of Christ (Abilene, TX) Records, 2006-2015, MS#493 [New Finding Aid]
The Fifth and Grape Church of Christ is located in Abilene, Texas. These records include three boxes of audio and visual materials from the congregation.

William Wesley Grasham Papers, 1955-2016, MS#515 [New Finding Aid]

These papers include William Wesley Grasham’s research and topical files, image slides, and some multimedia and print materials.

Stay tuned for more installments of Finding Aid Round Ups!

Be on the lookout: Henry Halley’s Bible Handbook – Update!

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[Back in February 2020 I (Mac) blogged about Henry Halley’s little Bible handbook.  Since then we received a few copies and I have edited this post to reflect our current holdings.  If you have a copy you would like to donate, please contact me.  We need a nice full shelf of these handbooks.]

Our goal is to build a comprehensive research-level collection that can support a very wide array of research needs in Restoration history and thought.  To that end we aim for fullness in our collections.  And that means we are always on the lookout to fill gaps in the collection.  And that means we are always looking for partners who value this mission.  Many donors over many years built a fine collection.  As we look to further enrich it, we can only do so through the kindness and generosity of partners and who donate materials, ensuring their long-term preservation and availability for research.

One scholar from our past, Henry Halley, had a far-reaching impact on evangelical Bible students through the many editions of his simple Pocket Bible Hand Book.  Halley studied at College of the Bible in Lexington, Kentucky under John William McGarvey and Isaiah Boone Grubbs.  Upon graduation he began a career of preaching and teaching.  His Bible teaching often took the form of intensive seminars in which the Bible was read, studied, and memorized.  Halley’s first edition of his Bible Hand Book consisted of the notes, comments, and supporting material he used in these Bible readings.  Over time he adapted and expanded his work, always with an eye toward making the content of the English Bible more accessible to any who wished to study it.

Halley’s Bible Handbook, New Revised Edition, 1965

Biography of Henry Halley, from the dust jacket of Halley’s Bible Handbook, New Revised Edition, 1965

We have editions from:

1946 – 17th edition
1951
1954 – 19th edition
1955 – 20th and a Spanish language edition from 1955
1957 – 21st edition
1959 – 22nd edition
1962 – 23rd edition
1963 – 23rd edition
1965 – 24th edition
1969

By 1980 it reached its 24th edition (and that edition by 1980 reached its 38th printing).  The first edition was a 16-page booklet, and later editions filled out nearly 1000 pages.  This is an astounding publishing record, and we think our collection should more adequately represent the breadth of Halley’s work.  We especially seek early volumes, and the Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Italian, and Greek translations.

Description of Halley’s Bible Handbook, back cover of the New Revised Edition, 1965

Title Page, Halley’s Bible Handbook, New Revised Edition, 1965

Foreword, Halley’s Bible Handbook, New Revised Edition, 1965

Foreword, Halley’s Bible Handbook, New Revised Edition, 1965

Printing History, Halley’s Bible Handbook, New Revised Edition, 1965

Printing History, Halley’s Bible Handbook, New Revised Edition, 1965

Can you help fill in these gaps?  Do you have a copy of one of these many editions we lack, and would you send it to us for the benefit of students and researchers?  Let’s partner together to build a comprehensive research-level collection.  Contact Mac Ice at mac.ice@acu.edu or 325-674-2144.