52 Ancestors in 52 weeks: week 8 : Heirloom

My Family Bible

 

My Heirloom is a very heavy John Brown self- interpreting Family Bible covered in brown Leather and gilt with gold leaf, the edges of the pages are also gilt gold it is bound around the edge in embossed brass with, when it was new it had brass locks that clipped to the top brass edge to keep it closed when not in use, it now has leather locks as the brass ones were lost 

It has very thick paper, paper that today we would not think of using for the pages of any book, it would be almost equivalent to 160 gsm in today’s paper it feels thick but soft, the main flyleaf page is stiff like cardboard, the pages with pictures on them are a much better quality, the print is heavy dark black and the colours of the pages with colour are rather pale by todays standard, with approximately 1200 pages it weighs 6.6 kg, which put simply means it was never intended as a Bible to pop in a pocket, it was never intended to leave the home.

 

One thing I do know about it, I know exactly, the cost of the Bible is still recorded on the corner of a front page in pencil; it was 5 Guineas that is five pound five shillings. For 1885 when it was purchased and presented this seems like quite a lot of money as the wage for a merchant like Thomas was not very much.

The Browns self-interpreting family Bible was compiled and written before 1775,                                     my copy was printed at James Semple 7 Stirling Road Glasgow. It is now called Dryman, Glasgow and 7 Stirling Road has now had many uses and since the 1800s and it has been added to as shown by the description on Google Maps.  

When this google maps picture was taken 7 Semple Road was for sale it had recently been a restaurant.

There are 2 old signs hanging from the building that have the word Brown on them, this may be a reference to the Bibles that were printed there.

Browns Bible was also printed by many other companies.

These are some I found

Glough & Muir Castle St EC London b

John G Murdoch 41 Castle St Holborn London EC c

Inglis & Jack Edinburg, Birmingham, Newcastle, Leeds & Manchester d

So far no one has been able to date accurately the printing date. This is the same with all copies of the Browns Self Interpreting Bible regardless of where it was printed, none of the printing pages found on line list a date of printing, it is almost as if he instructed the printers not to include a printing date because he thought that it may lead to one copy being more valuable than any other, and he considered every copy of his work to be of equal value. But this of course is only conjecture on my part.

In 1885 a loving husband in Melbourne Australia purchased a beautiful gift for his wife’s 31st birthday it was a Bible with companion edition Pilgrims Progress was purchased by Thomas George Gladstone-Mahany for his wife Catherine and presented to her on her 31st birthday, a 31st birthday does not seem very special but perhaps now he could afford it. Thomas made this gift very special because hand written inside the flyleaf is a loving inscription, To his wife Catherine and presented to her on her 31st birthday, a 31st birthday does not seem very special but perhaps now he could afford it. Some of the value would be in the fact that it has many elaborate pages, including the dedication page. The pages with pictures are described as “colour illustrations in oil”, they each have a tissue page to protect the pages from ink transfer.

At the beginning it included extensive pages for recording of a family tree, which Catherine and Thomas used to their full advantage, Jane their eldest daughter continued to fill in the family information, later another hand took over it was Catherine, Janes only surviving child, I am the second oldest child of Catherine and custodian of the family Bible and the information it contains I would have continued to add information but the pages were full.

Something came with the Bible that was added to it after it was given to Catherine Gladstone-Mahany, inside some of the pages were pressed fresh flowers, there are some from the wedding bouquet of Catherine, Jane, & Catherine, there were also some field flowers I picked for my mother when I was young, and one frangipani worn by my mother on our wedding

day. (each had a small slip of paper in the page with it so that anyone who opened the pages would know what the significance was.)

Also in the pages was a bookmark used by my great uncle Adam, and some mysterious blue crochet thread that when my mother saw it she told me it was the same as a dress collar her mother Jane made for her as a child.

The James Brown self-interpreting Bible was a treasure chest indeed, it is now kept in its own heavy black box, which was made to keep it in about 20 years ago.

In 1885 this Bible lived with Catherine and her husband Thomas and their 1st four children Jane, Thomas, Henry and Edwin at 165 Curzon Street Hotham Victoria now called North Melbourne.

It was then passed on to the eldest child Jane who took it to 27 Haines St Hotham later called North Melbourne and they lived in the house shown in the photo 

After Jane it passed on to her daughter Catherine who also lived at 27 Haines St North Melbourne after Jane died.

After my marriage the family Bible was passed on to me, the second oldest and the Pilgrims Progress was passed on to my younger sister, and we in turn will give them to our children or grandchildren to care for.                                                                                                                   

 Because also 20 years ago my mother got upset with me and took the Bible back into her possession my husband purchased for me a replacement family Bible, with pages for the family tree information, unlike the very old one this beautiful gift came in a box, it has very fine paper the coloured pictures included do not have a tissue page in front of each picture, because of the different printing methods used there is no chance of ink transfer. This Bible published by Zondervan in 1988 has a fake burgundy, leather look cover and weighs a fraction of the weight of the Browns Bible, just under 2 kilos.   

The two Bibles sit together on the bottom shelf in my crystal cabinet. Now both to me are equally important and of equal value. I have learnt that the old Family Bible actually has very little monetary value approx.. $36, to anyone except members of my family to which it is priceless.

                                                                 

Referencing

a Google Maps https://www.google.com.au/maps/@56.0660189,- 4.4517858,3a,75y,314.39h,77.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sment22p10e4AAAQvOZB7OA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 7 Semple Road commercial property for sale photo taken Nov 2015

b http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BROWNS-SELF-INTERPRETING-FAMILY-BIBLE-ILLUSTRATED-1860s-PUB-GLOUGH-MUIR-/371695054370 Browns Bible for sale on ebay

c http://www.divine-name.info/bibles/johnbrown3.htm Browns Bible on a discussion site

d http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-Victorian-Illustrated-Holy-Bible-Browns-Self-Interpreting-Family- /262467348728 Browns Bible for sale ebay

e North Melbourne. The fine wide streets of North Melbourne – Haines & Curzon Streets.http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/167605897?q=curzon+and+haines+streets+north+melbourne&c=picture &versionId=182674951

http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/182674951

 photograph : gelatin silver ; 7.5 x 9.5 cm (irregular) mounted on card 15.2 x 10.1 cm.

 

[ca. 1935]

 The photographs in the F. Oswald Barnett Collection were taken by Barnett and other unidentified photographers in the 1930s.

 

 Cite as: F. Oswald Barnett Collection, State Library of Victoria.

 Refer LTSL 65, H2001.291/149 for a 35 mm slide of this image.

 No copyright restrictions apply

This story is part of my Place Image Object project with Diploma of Family History at UTAS .

 

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