A section of my new Wonders of the Bible exhibit / museum will be dedicated to the Holy Bible in the state of Pennsylvania. Although I am in Allentown, to the best of my knowledge most of the history took place in Philadelphia ... which isn't too far away. In my younger days, I could (and did) ride a bicycle several times from Allentown to Philly. Compared to other areas of this huge state (for instance the northwest part) Philadelphia and Allentown could be considered part of the same "region".
I had thought about making the section "The Holy Bible in Early America", instead of just Pennsylvania, but the state's history is very rich with the history of printing. And where you have early printing history, you have early Bible history. The two go hand-in-hand. But Pennsylvania holds a special place in American Bible history, too. Why? Because Pennsylvania was the main contributor to the history of the Bible in America. Pennsylvania was also the place for the production of the first English Bible endorsed by Congress in 1782. And that's a biggie...
William Penn, the founder of what would become Pennsylvania, did not write his famous book "No Cross, No Crown" here in Pennsylvania. He wrote it while being imprisioned within the Tower of London. It is a classic. And the leaf that is on display is from a very early (1682), and rare, edition. One is more likely to find one of the later 18th or 19th century printings.
I have been designing these displays myself ... having had my early training at the Philadelphia School of Printing back in the 1970's. Once again: there is that Philadelphia connection again.
The "move in" is going smoothly. Yesterday (13 Jan) was the first day of moving displays into the empty space. Today will be the same. Keep us in your prayers that God will bring us a wonderful Bible history museum here in the Lehigh Valley.
