ACU to showcase Bible preservation exhibit during annual Lectureship For immediate release February 9, 1999 During Abilene Christian University's 81st Annual Bible Lectureship Feb. 21-24, the College of Biblical Studies will showcase a special exhibit by F.J. Maisel featuring the history of the English Bible. The exhibit will be displayed in the College of Biblical Studies' Hall of Servants. Items to be displayed include a 12th century Jewish Torah and a leaf from a Gutenberg Bible dated 1450-1455 AD. Upon learning about Maisel's exhibit, Bill Young, director of church relations and Lectureship, said, "We instantly recognized that this exhibit deserves to be shared with our Lectureship guests as well as the Abilene community." Maisel, an authority on rare books and historical manuscripts, is from Fort Worth. He has a bachelor's degree from Dallas Baptist University and performed graduate studies in ancient history and archeology at the Center for the Study of Early Christianity, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Ten years ago, Maisel began collecting leafs and fragments of ancient biblical manuscripts. He was inspired to prepare his artifacts for general exhibition to help people trace and appreciate the preservation history of the Bible. The exhibit is "focused on the reliability of generation after generation of copying," Maisel said. With the Torah and Gutenberg leaf, other artifacts to be displayed include: Ethioptic leaf (Psalm 23) from the 1600s Latin Vulgate leaf from 1220 Tyndale (book of Galations) fragment from 1535 First editions of Coverdale leaf from 1535 Matthew leaf from 1537 Great Bible leaf from 1538 Geneva Bible leaf from 1560 First edition of the King James Bible (almost complete) from 1613 Pottery from 3100-900 BC The exhibit is open to the public free of charge. -30- If you are a member of the media who would like more information about this release, please contact Tom Craig, director of media and community relations, at craigt@nicanor.acu.edu or call 915-674-2692. Last update: Feb. 18, 1999 This page is maintained by Tom Craig, craigt@nicanor.acu.edu. http://www.acu.edu/people/news/lectureshipexhibits99.html