Thursday 14 January 2021

Bibles - Large, Small and Very Old

 How many Bibles does one person need? and what to do when they have old inscriptions?  How sentimental should I be?

Having sorted through the books on my shelves numerous times, these bibles remain and I'm about to start packing all my books. I guess they'll move with me although it does seem a bit silly.

There is a huge Family Bible that goes back several generations and a teeny weeny even older bible that I found in a Jumble sale years ago. Both these have brass fasteners - a very small one on the little bible


One of the others was given to his father by Col's Dad and then has Colin's name in Aged 11.

One is a Gideons bible given out at school, but I don't think it's mine. Another was my late Mum's bible given to her by Aunt Nellie in 1939.



 

And the one in the red slip cover is mine, awarded to me for a scripture exam. It was an honour back then to get a good enough exam result to be awarded a bible as well as a certificate. Being competitive I really loved doing the annual Scripture Exam and have several certificates to prove it!

 

The photos below are from inside the front cover of the tiny bible with dates of 1893

and back even further to 1845


This is what it says inside the Huge Family Bible. I think William Baker would have been my Great Great Grandad

My Dad had it rebound in the 1980s and it has some colour pictures and long lists of births and marriages - but nothing written in for years.


At the back is something that came in very handy when I was at Sunday school .....it's a concordance and gives details of where in the bible various words can be found. Handy for Bible quizzes back then.

 

The family Bible seems to be passed to the oldest in each generation so one day I'd better give it to Eldest Daughter - goodness knows what she'll say about that!


Back Tomorrow
Sue

42 comments:

  1. I have a tiny New Testament which my Gran always carried around in her handbag. It was presented to her by the girls when she stopped being Captain of the Girls Life Brigade Company. The inscription was written by the oldest girl - who subsequently married the captain's son and became my Mum!That makes it doubly special. The Bible I read every morning was a birthday gift from my parents in 1982, the month before Liz was born. Dad used to say that having lots of Bibles is fine, just make sure you read at least one of them regularly. I do have a fondness for Sunday School Prize Labels in books!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've kept my scripture exam certificates all this time. Sadly I don't have any of the books I got for attendance anymore.

      Delete
  2. They all have value, don't they, quite apart from what they are. There's the historical value, the emotional value and the family value. Maybe you could update the Family Bible with dates and events that you know. I hope Eldest Daughter does value it. I'd love something like that.
    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's strange is I seem to remember another family bible, smaller and very tatty and long gone - wonder what family that was?

      Delete
  3. You have a genealogical treasure trove. If someone in your family is interested in it's history, those would be most enthusiastically welcome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This side of the family history has been researched back to the early 1800's or maybe a bit earlier. It's my Mums side that I'd love to research one day

      Delete
  4. I once bought a massive black Bible in a second hand bookshop. In it, I found an old sepia photo of houses by a river. I wondered where it was and showed it to a friend. Did they know? They thought I was pulling their leg. It turned out they used to live in one of them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now that's what you call coincidence!

      Delete
    2. Wow! How lovely that you shared it with them

      Delete
  5. You have enough to give to each of your three children and one for yourself. I wouldn't get rid of family Bibles and I have two myself. I also have two hymn books both exactly the same except one is a hard cover and the other soft which belonged to my Grandmother.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish I'd kept my little school hymnbook which lived in my blazer pocket for 5 years

      Delete
  6. When husband was doing his (museum) conservation degree years ago, there was a book-binding module, where they had to re-bind an old book. He bought a huge family bible in a junk shop, did a lovely job on it, and kept it. Years later he listed the family names on a family history site, and one of the great, great, great ... grand-daughters saw the mention. He sent it to her. She and her family were thrilled! Someone, someday, will love yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We had a bookbinder talk to us at WI - it was really interesting.

      Delete
  7. I still have my Gideon bible given to me on the last day of senior school, it's full of names, front has the teachers and the back has all my school friends, most of whom I have not seen for years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think we got given our Gideon bibles in out first year at High school. I'm sure mine had my name in and this one has no name - it must be one of the childrens

      Delete
    2. Gideon Bibles are still in hotel rooms (although I haven't been to a hotel for a couple of years now!)

      Delete
  8. I have several Bibles given to me from Sunday school and church, I also have one from a very old lady when I was 10 on my birthday, then there is the ones my daughter go from school and Sunday school also when she was a bridesmaid. I cannot ever throw a bible away seems so wrong. I wonder if the Gideon bible is still always but in a drawer in hotels.
    Hazel c uk 🌈🌈🎅

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It would be nice to think Gideon Bibles are still to be found in hotel bedrooms and given out in school

      Delete
    2. I have been in several hotels in the last few years, here in the US, and YES!! Each time I looked in the drawers to see if there was a Gideon Bible, and THERE WAS!! (Not given out in schools, though, in the US.)

      Delete
  9. We used to have Sunday School scripture exams, too. Like you, I've kept the certificates! We didn't get prizes, though, they were only for attendance.

    Bibles are a problem, aren't they? It seems wrong just to get rid of them. I always feel rather sad when I see them in boxes of junk at boot sales.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think this was the only time I got a prize for Scripture exams, we had books for attendance but I haven't kept them

      Delete
  10. When i was clearing out my dad's things, I found old family diaries & bibles that had belonged to his relatives. They mean nothing to me as I never knew any of the owners; as no current family are interested either, they have just been left in a box. Every so often I go through the box and throw out 1 or 2 items, they reflect my dad's life & memories, not mine. We're all mortal and why burden someone else with items that they don't want. gillian

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diaries are another thing I have - although I chucked out lots

      Delete
    2. Contact a Historical Society or a church in the area where the relatives lived, and offer them the diaries and bibles. There might be someone who is looking for information on your Dad's relatives.

      Delete
  11. What a treasure trove! We have a small collection bibles in various translations, including German and French. When our oldest son moved out on his own, he asked to take my first good bible with him, gifted to me from my grandmother; he'd been given his (paternal) great-grandmother's when she passed at age 100. Our sons were very close to her. She worked as a dorm mother in a mission school in Africa while my husband was growing up, and our son also has an intricate coffee table from her time on the Ivory Coast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lovely to know your son still has the old bibles

      Delete
  12. Margie from Toronto14 January 2021 at 13:48

    I also have a small collection and, like you and others, just cannot get rid of them. Aside from the sentimental value - I can't help but feel it would be bad karma to throw one out. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree it would seem really strange and so unlucky to put a bible in the recycling!

      Delete
  13. What a wonderful collection, the family bible is wonderful what a treasure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A very heavy treasure but worth nothing much at all in monetary terms

      Delete
  14. These are treasures Sue! Please hold on to them- I let some of mine go with our last move and I really regret it so much. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  15. What an interesting post! I have a collection of Bibles too. I have an award Bible from Sunday School as well as a couple of others I had as a youth. I later inherited a large family Bible and two of my Mother's Bible. I can't let go of them but I'm not real sure my children will want them, or at least not all of them.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a fantastic collection and a lovely bit of history. I have one bible and the prayer book that my grandfather had in WWI. Inside is an inscription he wrote when he passed it on to my mother when she was in the army and due to go to Japan during the Korean War

    ReplyDelete
  17. I used to own several bibles (old and not so old) but now only have a couple of special ones left. I gave the rest to a local church to offer to their parishioners.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I gave away the only Bible we had [I was given it when I was at school] when somebody put out a plea for one on Freecycle a few years ago. The family ones with all the dates etc are such a part of one's family history though aren't they. Arilx

    ReplyDelete
  19. I had a nineteenth century family bible with BMDs recorded in the middle. The book ends and bindings were in a terrible state and it dropped shreds of paper everywhere. Probably vandalism, but I cut out the family history pages and disposed of the rest. Carefully searched through first to make sure nothing hidden between the pages.

    ReplyDelete
  20. People have mentioned The Gideons. They still do a great job, providing Bibles for schools, hotels, hospitals, prisons, and workers in the emergency services. They've changed their name to "Good News for everyone" and the website is here. https://goodnewsuk.com/

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm sad to say I don't have any bibles at the moment. There used to be a large family bible with fascinating entries in it but I think it got chucked as it was so badly damaged after being in my Dad's hoarding space :-(

    ReplyDelete
  22. Do you have anyone in your family who does Geneology? I'd pass those things to them. Those Bibles and the handwriting inside are wonderful though.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I have a few older family bibles as well, one of which dates back to the 1800s. I also had my childhood Gideons bible, and it has been driving me crazy that I can't find it as it used to sit on my windowsill for years until we redecorated a few years ago...I can still 'see' it sitting there, so goodness knows where I put it!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Another coincidence, I have two Bibles passed on from my grandmother, one given to her by her mother, the other by a Miss Markwell. The dates in each Bible is the dates of my children’s birthdays.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I have a big family Bible on my dad's side of family. It is good to look thru once in awhile. I have a small Bible that was my grandfather's Bible, my mom's dad. His dad give it to him. He was in the US Army in WW I. Served overseas. I liked viewing what Bibles you have. Take care and God bless!

    ReplyDelete