A Bible box is a small container that is used to store a
bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
.
About the size of a bible, this box could be used to transport in safety what was a very costly book. Many varieties had a slanted or angled top with a lower lip, meant to hold the Bible for reading when the box was placed on a table.
In a sense it then served as a portable
lectern
A lectern is a standing reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of ...
. Over the years the typical Bible box was also used or specifically built to contain writing implements such as a
quill
A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen/metal-Nib (pen), nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, event ...
, ink pot,
blotting paper
Blotting paper is a highly absorbent type of paper used to absorb ink or oil from writing material, particularly when quills or fountain pens were popular. It could also be used in testing how much oil is present in products. Blotting paper ...
and writing paper. The level or slanted surface of the box then served as a desktop for writing as well as reading.
In much of Europe this kind of box was produced in many different materials, such as wood, metal or ceramics, in simple or extremely ornate styles. Bible boxes were popular in the 17th century. Many of the more refined examples can be found in museums.
In
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the period of European colonization of North America from the late 15th century until the unifying of the Thirteen British Colonies and creation of the United States in 1776, during the Re ...
, this container was produced locally in a great variety of styles and finishes, by amateurs and professionals.
The term "Bible box" is sometimes wrongly used in the United States to qualify antique objects which are in fact simple
portable desk The portable desk had many forms and is an ancestor of the portable computer, the modern laptop an atavistic grandchild of the 19th-century lap desk.
Medieval era and Renaissance
All desks were portable to some extent, from medieval times to the ...
s with no biblical connection. A more modern, cheaper and more portable version of the bible box is the
bible case.
See also
*
Bible case
*
List of desk forms and types
This is a list of different types and forms of desks.
Desk forms and types
* Armoire desk
* Bargueño desk
* Bench desk
* Bible box
* Bonheur du jour
* Bureau à gradin
* Bureau brisé
* Bureau capucin
* Bureau Mazarin
*''Bureau plat'', see W ...
References
*Aronson, Joseph. The Encyclopedia of Furniture. 3rd ed. New York:
Crown Publishers, 1966.
*Gloag, John. A Complete Dictionary of Furniture. Woodstock, N.Y.:
Overlook Press
The Overlook Press is an American publishing house based in New York, New York which considers itself "a home for distinguished books that had been 'overlooked' by larger houses".
History and operations
The Overlook Press was formed in 1971 by ...
, 1991.
*Nutting, Wallace. Furniture Treasury. New York:
Macmillan Publishing
Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...
, 1963.
External links
Bible box (nautical desk), c.1640s– belonged to
Alexander Spotswood
Major-General Alexander Spotswood (12 December 1676 – 7 June 1740) was a British army officer, explorer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Virginia from 1710 to 1722. After an unsatisfactory military career, in 1710 ...
, lieutenant governor of the Colony of Virginia
{{Authority control
Box
A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...
Christian religious furniture
Portable furniture