Featured Help! Any idea where this little thing came from?!

Hi there

Looking for some insight if possible... This is probably the most random thing I have bought. It's a small (palm sized) but heavy bible, it looks hand carved from stone maybe? Very cold to the touch. It's probably a paperweight but I can't find anything like it online so just wondered if anyone had seen anything like this before? Would love to know it's history (if any) - I picked it up in a charity shop. Thanks in advance

 

Hmm, I don’t know. It could possibly have been a gift of some sort, possibly from a Communion or baptism

 

Welcome Louise and Redwing.
I have seen one before, but can't remember who, what, where. Hopefully someone else does.

 

Ah really! Yeah hopefully! I have searched and searched online for something similar but found nothing.

 

Help is here! Check this thread:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/marble-carved-book-paperweights.40515/#post-844554

 

Ah wow!! What a great thread, so interesting!! Thank you so much I would never have found that!

 

I was going to say hand warmer. I've seen similar in pottery with a cork in them. Warm the stone by the fire and put it in your pocket for the cold ride to church. Paperweight works too.

 

Good thinking! Gosh it could be so many things couldn't it!

 

I've also read these books were carved by tomb stone masons in the 18th and 19th centuries as practise.

 

You beat me to it M!. Mine don't have the nice carving this one has but I was about to say 'Ooh, I've got some like that!' Well done for finding the thread

 

Did you decide to keep hold of yours? I'm very drawn to my little book and it's potential history!

 

Yes I've still got them.
Like you I struggled to find much information online apart from some more modern ones.
I'm not very good at selling anything I like so I've hung onto them.

 

I have one made of gray marble.

 

Do you have any photos?

 

One of my lucid moments.

 

Welcome Louise!
You came to the right place for getting help on mysterious thingies

 

Thank you! I definitely did

 

You have those? Where can I get one

 

They are very rare, and hard to come by.

 

I need to take a few pictures of the one I have - a family piece that I used to think was my great grandfather's because of what I read as a single initial for his surname. Looking again this morning it struck me that it may actually be both his initials joined together. But I need more opinions on that.