New Testament
Object number2018.132.11 a,b
Publisher
The Reilly and Lee Company
Datec. 1943
OriginChicago, IL
MediumSteel; Metal plating; Leather; Paperboard; Paper; Ink; Gilding
Credit LineGift of Steven W. Hays
DescriptionNew Testament Bible. Rounded rectangular book with plated steel front cover (gold color) and textured black leather spine and back cover. Front cover has engraved text. Spine has gold title. Gilt red text block. Black marbled endpapers. Interior pages are white with black printed text. 512 numbered pages.
Off-white paperboard box. Both short ends open; viewer's right short end has tab closure. Front has blue printed border containing blue title text. Reverse has blue printed border containing shipping form. DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth (a): 4.688 x 3.125 x 0.875 in. (11.9 x 7.9 x 2.2 cm)Height x Width x Depth (b): 3.25 x 5.25 x 0.875 in. (8.3 x 13.3 x 2.2 cm)
Inscriptions(a)
Front cover has engraved text "May / the Lord / be with / you".
First page (page opposite the title page) has handwritten text in blue ink "To Junior with love / from Mary & Bill / October 1943".
(b)
Reverse has blue printed text including "From / RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED / CONTENTS - PRINTED BOOK / POSTMASTER: This Parcel may be opened for Postal Inspections if necessary. / To / 3 Cents / Postage".
Marks(a)
Spine has printed gold text "New / Testament".
Title page has black printed text including "THE / NEW TESTAMENT / OF / OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR / JESUS CHRIST / The Authorized or King James / Version of 1611 / Translated out of the Original Greek; / and with the Former Translations / Diligently compared and / Revised / THE REILLY & LEE CO. / CHICAGO".
Title page's reverse side has black printed text at bottom "PRINTED IN U.S.A."
(b)
Front has blue printed text"SHIELDS of FAITH / (POCKET SIZE) / NEW TESTAMENT / WITH / PLATED STEEL COVER / A Companion for the Man in the Service".
Viewer's left short end of box has black stamped text "500".
Historical NotesPart of a collection that documents donor Steven W. Hays' father, Walter J. G. Hays, Jr.'s service in WWII. Walter J. G Hays, Jr. grew up at 5100 Bayard Street in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and attended Shady Side Academy. After high school he began to work at Sewickley Ice Company, which his father, William J. G. Hays, Sr., owned. Walter was drafted in 1943, trained in Bloomington, Illinois (where he met his future wife) and then was deployed to England. He trained for six months in England before participating in D-Day as well as the Battle of the Bulge, where he was wounded and received a Purple Heart. He ended his service in Berlin where his group was relieved by MP troops who came to keep peace in Berlin after the war. When he returned to the States he first went back to Bloomington to marry Lucille Nutgrass, who he met when he was stationed there, and then returned to Pittsburgh and his job at the ice plant. While he was in the service he worked in refrigeration repair and served in the 3712th Quartermaster Truck Company.
Previous owner
Walter J. G. Hays Jr.
Related institution
3712th Quartermaster Truck Company
Related person
Lucille Nutgrass
Related institution
Sewickley Ice Company
Related person
Jesus Christ
On View
Not on view
Army and Navy Commission of the Protestant Episcopal Church
1942
1999
