Wheaton Archives & Special Collections

This month on the new From the Vault blog post, Wheaton Archives & Special Collections features stories, photographs, and other artifacts from the event-filled life of Nina Vleck, one of the many 20th century missionaries represented in our collections.

Read more at: https://fromthevault.wheaton.edu/2026/06/12/a-practical-woman-the-purpose-filled-and-adventurous-life-of-nina-eleanor-gemmell-vleck/

The Reading Room and Special Collections will be closed Monday, June 15, for staff in-service. Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, June 16th.

For our second feature honoring America's 250th anniversary, we're highlighting a remarkable item from the collections of the Billy Graham Museum: the first English-language Bible printed in America.

For many years, English law restricted the printing of English Bibles to approved printers in England. During the American Revolution, however, British blockades disrupted imports and by the early 1780s, sourcing Bibles in the colonies had become increasingly difficult. In response to growing demand from American clergy, Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken sought authorization from the Continental Congress in 1782 to print the first complete English Bible in the Americas. Debating questions of the still-emerging relationship between the state and religion in the newly independent colonies, the Continental Congress endorsed Aitken's project, but refused to commission or pay for the printing.

Visit the Billy Graham Museum to see Aitken's Bible in person, along with other fascinating artifacts that tell the story of early American religious history.

As the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches this July, Wheaton Archives & Special Collections will be featuring several items from our collection throughout the next month that highlight the the ideas, debates, and movements that shaped America.

Our first featured item is a pamphlet from 1775, "A Letter to the Rev. John Wesley, Occasioned by his Calm Address to the American Colonies," written by "Americanus," a pen name for the British Baptist minister and reformer Caleb Evans. Responding to Wesley's dismissal of colonial concerns about taxation and his criticism of the American revolutionaries, Evans declared “In a free State, every man who is supposed a free agent, ought to be in some measure his own governor; and therefore a branch at least of the legislative power should reside in the whole body of the people.”

Colonial grievances and proposals for reform before the Revolution were fiercely debated on both sides of the Atlantic. Through pamphlets, broadsides, and other printed works like this one, theologians, philosophers, and political thinkers contested fundamental questions about representation, liberty, and government—debates that ultimately culminated in the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Since 1994, the Evangelism & Missions Archives at Wheaton College has held the official archives of World Evangelical Alliance (formerly World Evangelical Fellowship). From its founding in 1951, World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has sought to foster cooperation and communication between national Evangelical church and parachurch associations around the world. As part of their ministry, WEA holds international conferences of Evangelical leaders and sponsors cooperation in such areas as theological education, church renewal, missions, relief and development work, and leadership training, as well as publishing.

In April, Archives staff added over 174 linear feet (246 boxes) of new material to the collection, more than tripling its original size. These new materials were transferred to the Archives by WEA over the last three decades and document the history of Evangelical Protestant Christianity all around the world in dozens of nations over the 20th century and into the new millennium. It is a valuable and unique source for scholars, Christian workers, and the public. The new materials include records of the triannual WEA meetings, as well as the records documenting the WEA’s Theological Commission and Women’s Commission, making the WEA records a valuable resource for scholars of global Christianity. The finding aid to the WEA records can be viewed online at: https://archives.wheaton.edu/repositories/4/resources/249

Photograph: 1987 lunch meeting of the Japan Evangelical Association. David Howard, International Director of the WEF, is second from the right at the front table. The JEA is one of dozens of national Evangelical associations documented in the new additions to the World Evangelical Alliance Collection in the Archives.

Poet Luci Deck Shaw ’53 died on December 1, 2025, at 96 years old. She served on the Wheaton College Alumni Association Board of Directors and the steering committee for the Marion E. Wade Center, playing a key role in establishing the center as a place for artists and writers to discover the richness of the Wade’s seven authors. Join Wheaton in remembering and celebrating Shaw’s life and work: https://bit.ly/492vUFu

The Wheaton Archives & Special Collections and the Marion E. Wade Center are pleased to announce exciting additions to their archival holdings donated from the estate of Dr. Ralph Blair. Read more about the new donation on From the Vault:

New Treasures: A Collector’s Gift to the Archives The Wheaton Archives & Special Collections and the Marion E. Wade Center are pleased to announce new additions to their archival holdings donated from the estate of Ralph Blair. Dr. Blair colle…

Over the last 75 years, HoneyRock, Wheaton College’s Center for Leadership Development, has impacted the lives of thousands. Learn about the history of HoneyRock and the ways it has fostered transformation in the lives of many: https://bit.ly/49iUgLa

This May, Wheaton Archives & Special Collections explores camp meetings in 19th century American religious history through a selection of images and print ephemera from the rich holdings of SC233: Sacred Arts Collection. Read more on the new From the Vault at: https://fromthevault.wheaton.edu/2026/05/07/capturing-the-camp-meeting/