Physical description
Brown's Self-Interpreting Family Bible. London: Blackie and Son 1862. A thick dark brown volume with a tiny embossed diamond shaped self-pattern on both covers. All edges of pages are gilt, The title, Holy Bible is printed in gold lettering at the top of the spine and it has five raised bands across it. The black and white decorative title page has Brown's Self-Interpreting Family Bible with many Additional notes, References and Readings, also Index of subjects printed at the top. Underneath in a semi-circle shape is a black ad white illustration of Ruth and Naomi, with publisher details below. The following Title Page has full details and explanations of the contents. There is a Publisher's Preface and Attestations to this Edition. Following this is a Memoir of The Rev. John Brown, closing with his final words upon his death on 19th June 1787. He was buried at Haddington Churchyard 24th June A.D. 1787, aged 65 years. Following this is an Introduction to the Right Understanding of the Oracles of God. There are many black and white plates included throughout the Bible. Pp. 1157 (Bible) At the back are many additional inclusions such as: Alphabetical Index, A Collection of Similies contained in the Scriptures, Complete Index, and Concise Dictionary, The Psalms of David in Metre, Translations and Paraphrases and more. There are missing pages of the Hymns. In all a most complex Bible for the family. Included are four loose pages with details of some of the Sebire Family Tree as noted in the Inscriptions section below.
Publication type
non-fiction
Inscriptions & markings
This Bible has early genealogical information opposite page 832 at the end of the Old Testament. The Family Register is fully handwritten in black ink in Old English script commencing with 'Peter Sebire born 14th June 1835 Sen Died 20th September 1902 (67 years).' Many other entries are listed over the page. Included are four loose pages with details of some of the Sebire Family Tree. Two pages are photocopies of a Death and a separate Marriage Certificate. A handwritten Family Tree shows the Sebire family from Daniel Sebire 1801 - 1875 to 1960. The fourth page is a typed copy of the original Family Tree as handwritten in the Bible opposite page 832.
Summary
A late Victorian family Bible— the beloved King James text, augmented by the late Revd John Brown of Haddington’s Comprehensive Bible study aids which was well bound.
First published in 1611, the King James Version of the Bible has exercised an incalculable impact on piety, language and literature throughout the English-speaking world. "Other translations may engage the mind, but the King James Version is the Bible of the heart" (Campbell, 275). It is probably the text most commonly found in decorative family Bibles such as this one, which has several black and white plates. The Rev. John Brown of Haddington was "a tirelessly faithful pastor"—"For eight months of the year he delivered a lecture, two sermons, and an exercise each Sunday"—and also a prolific author. He is best remembered for his Self-Interpreting Bible, first published 1778, which became "as familiar in Presbyterian households as John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and Thomas Boston's Human Nature in its Fourfold State" (DNB). Without Apocrypha. There is a Separate New Testament title page dividing the bible. Opposite page 832 is The Family Register fully handwritten in black ink Old English script commencing with Peter Sebire born 14th June 1835 Sen Died 20th September 1902 (67 years). Many other entries are listed.
