The History Behind the 19th Century Family Bible Style:
The American Family Bible
I don’t know if the concept of a Family Bible began in America, but Family Bibles with supplemental pages to record marriages, births, and deaths first appeared in American printed Bibles in the 1790’s. Before that, it was common for people to record family information as well as the Bible’s provenance in the Bible itself. For lack of an official place to record this information, the owners would find a convenient blank page or the reverse side of a title page to pen the names of family members, living and deceased.
By the middle of the 19th Century, the large folio size Bibles nearly always had family record pages, and thanks to the American Bible Society, many personal size Bibles also included them. It was understood from the early days of America that Bibles were not only made to be read in the family home, but also to be passed down to the next generation.
I’ve been asked on many occasions “What makes a Family Bible valuable?” And my response is usually the same each time: “All it takes to make a Family Bible valuable is two distant cousins and an auctioneer.” For the most part, they are a relic from the past: that is, unless it’s your family’s Bible. Then it becomes a treasure no family wants to part with.
Any Bible can be a Family Bible if there’s room to write your family history. So Leonard’s is offering that opportunity to turn your Bible, whatever the size, into a family heirloom.
From the middle of the 19th Century to the early 20th Century, Family Bibles were designed to be elegant. Companies such as Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, and National Wringer Company got on the bandwagon and published thousands of Bibles, sold though their catalogs. Many others were sold by door-to-door salesmen who gave you options of plain and sensible to downright gaudy cover designs with the Bible text bound together with all kinds of study materials, pictures, maps and such to make you feel like you’d just purchased an entire theological library. Fortunately, always included was a place to record your family information.
While Family Bibles are still being published today, we have decided to focus our attention on the Family Bible look of the Victorian era. Through combining the technology of 3D printing with the traditional use of genuine leather, Leonard’s is ready to offer our services in rebinding your Family Bible into something that hasn’t been available for many years.
Our first design is ready to go and can be fitted to most Bible sizes.