Library acquires Lawrence Family Bible published in 1846

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Teri Skillman, (808) 956-8688
Events and Communications Coordinator, Library Services
Posted: Oct 30, 2013

UHM Librarian Irene Herold and Eileen Urquhart.
UHM Librarian Irene Herold and Eileen Urquhart.

A Deed of Gift signing ceremony for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library’s receipt of the Lawrence Family Bible was held on Monday, October 28, 2013, in the Hamilton Library. The Bible is the donation of Mrs. Eileen Palmer Urquhart of Honolulu.

The Lawrence Family Bible, a King James Bible, was published in 1846 in England. Eileen Urquhart’s parents were from England, and the Bible was acquired by the family in year unknown.  Eileen's grandmother recorded births, marriages and deaths in it.  It was passed on to Eileen’s mother, who did the same and bequeathed it to Eileen, who was born in Canada.

The Bible was published for the British and Foreign Bible Society, which was founded in 1804, and was “appointed to be read in Churches.”  Copies were printed for the Society by John W. Parker Printer, which was the printer to Cambridge University, and were sold to “subscribers” who may have been members of the Bible Society.

The book itself is made of black, embossed leather binding with “Holy Bible” printed in gold on the spine.  In the margins on both sides of each page are printed notes for liturgical use.  It measures approximately 13 inches high by 10 inches wide by 3 inches thick.

In the 1960s, Eileen's mother, Dorothy May Lawrence Palmer, made a final visit to the United Kingdom, where the rest of the family still lived.  She took the Bible to Canada where she, her husband and Eileen lived.  Upon her mother's death in 2006, the Bible went to Eileen, who is the last of the Lawrence lineage.

The Urquharts donated the Lawrence Family Bible to the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Library. Said Eileen, "I am happy in knowing The Holy Bible will receive respect as well as being -- for many University students -- an available source of knowledge and learning."

For more information, contact Teri Skillman (skillman@hawaii.edu), Ellen Chapman ellen@hawaii.edu or Dainan Skeem (dainan@hawaii.edu).

 

For more information, visit: http://library.manoa.hawaii.edu/