Celebrating 100 Years of the Quayle Bible Collection: New Exhibit Explores Faith and Nature

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. — Baker University is proud to celebrate the centennial of the Quayle Bible Collection with a new exhibit titled God’s Outdoors: The Bible and Nature, opening September 8, 2025, and running through May 17, 2026. A public open house will be held Tuesday, September 9, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Spencer Wing of Collins Library. Refreshments will be provided.

Curated by Nicholaus Pumphrey, Chair and Professor of History, Culture & Society, the exhibit is an exploration of how scripture has shaped cultural understandings of the natural world. It draws on rare and historic volumes from the Quayle Bible Collection and features two thematic sections: one focused on Bishop William A. Quayle’s own writings and the Natural Theology of his time, and the other on biblical interpretations of nature.

In a recent KLWN interview, John Richards, Associate Professor of History in Baker’s Department of History, Culture, and Society, the exhibit offers a timely reflection on how faith traditions have shaped American views of nature and community.

“The Bible has long served as a lens through which Americans interpret their environment,” said Richards. “This exhibit invites us to consider how scripture has inspired both stewardship and symbolism in our relationship with the natural world.”

A Legacy of Books and Belief

Named for Bishop William Alfred Quayle, a Baker alumnus from the Class of 1885, the Quayle Bible Collection includes more than 800 Bibles and religious documents, some dating as early as 2000 BCE. Highlights include a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible (1456), a Geneva Bible (1560), a New Testament of Tyndale (1549), and illuminated manuscripts from the 13th century. The collection also features historical texts by Josephus and Luther, prayer books, sermon collections, and clay tablets from Ur.

“Bishop Quayle treasured books not just for their content, but for their craftsmanship and historical significance,” said Richards. “His collection reflects a deep reverence for the printed word and its power to shape human thought.”

The collection has grown under the stewardship of curators such as Hattie Osborne, Mary McCormick, Ray Firestone, John Forbes, and Kay Bradt, with support from Baker presidents and donors. Today, it remains one of the university’s most treasured academic resources.

“On March 9, 1925, William A. Quayle passed away and left his Bible collection to the University that he loved so much,” said Pumphrey. “As a minister and bishop of the Methodist Church, Quayle traveled throughout the Midwest giving lectures and sermons, all the while collecting texts. His writings often focused on his love of nature, especially the prairie, and how he connected his spirituality to the outdoors.”

Regional Collaboration and Historical Context

The God’s Outdoors exhibit is also featured in the Watkins Museum of History’s “Foundations of Faith” display, which highlights early churches in Lawrence and their role in shaping civic and spiritual life. Watkins curator Andrew Stockman noted the inclusion of Quayle materials and praised the collaboration with Baker University.

“This is really the only time you could see all these items in one place,” Stockman said, referencing the joint effort to showcase pre-1900 church artifacts and rare religious texts.

The Watkins Museum’s “Civil War on the Border” programming further contextualizes the exhibit by exploring how Americans used faith to navigate the moral and political challenges of the Civil War.

Visit the Exhibit

A public open house will be held Tuesday, September 9, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Spencer Wing of Collins Library. Refreshments will be provided.

The Quayle Bible Collection exhibit is open by appointment. To schedule a visit, email library@bakerU.edu or call 785.594.7873.

For more information about the Quayle Bible Collection and upcoming events, visit https://www.bakeru.edu/history-traditions/quayle-bible-collection/