Anglican Prayer Books Collection Unveiled at UK
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 1, 2011) − The Abbitt-DuPriest Collection of Anglican Prayer Books at the University of Kentucky will be unveiled as part of a dedication ceremony scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, in the Great Hall, of the Margaret I. King Building. The dedication ceremony is free and open to the public.
This collection of prayer books, dating back to 1592, is a gift to the UK Special Collections from the Rev. Travis T. DuPriest, former director of the Dekoven Retreat and Conference Center in Racine, Wis., and UK alumnus.
DuPriest inherited the collection from his uncle, the Rev. Raymond Edgerton Abbitt, an Episcopal priest who served in the Philippines, St. Thomas and St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, and in the Diocese of Dallas.
Starting in the 1930s, Abbitt set out to acquire at least one prayer book from the reign of each English monarch.
In conjunction with the dedication, an exhibition selected from more than 100 examples of Anglican prayer books is currently on display in the lobby of Special Collections in the King Building. The exhibition, which runs through the month of December, is also free and open to the public.
Special Collections at UK Libraries is home to a collection of rare books, Kentuckiana, the Archives, the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, the King Library Press and the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center.
For more information on the Abbitt-DuPriest Collection or the exhibition, email Jim Birchfield, curator of books at Special Collections, at j.birchfield@uky.edu or call (859) 257-8408.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-1754 ext. 229, Whitney.Hale@uky.edu