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Maine Antique Digest, April 2015 23-C
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with a name or initials may also
have carved images. These will
be discussed later. And some
books have two names or two
sets of initials, possibly one the
maker or giver and the other the
recipient.
Religious inscriptions, some-
times accompanied by Chris-
tian iconography, are also
common. “Holy Bible” is the
most common title but usually
shortened to “Bible” on very
small books. Thirty-five books
(of 279) have “Holy Bible”
or “Bible” inscribed. Many
inscriptions are simple yet pow-
erful. These include “Remember
Me,” “Forget Me Not,” “Friend-
ship,” “To Mother,” “Good
Luck,” “In God We Trust,” “It Is
God’s Way,” “A Kiss,” “To One
I Love,” “God Is Love,” “You
and I,” and “From a Friend,”
to name but a few. Books with
these inscriptions are reminis-
cent of gravestones and the knit-
work mottoes common to most
American homes from the Civil
War period through the early
20th century. Since the books are
much smaller than gravestones,
their titles are abbreviated, yet
they express profound hopes and
wishes.
Two styles of lettering are
usually found on stone books,
block lettering or a highly dec-
orative Gothic Revival script.
The Gothic Revival lettering
style was very popular in the
second half of the 19th century.
It was common to many printed
materials, such as the title pages
of books, sheet music, adver-
tising, and religious ephemera.
The lettering on stone books
can be either incised or carved
in relief. Block lettering is more
commonly seen in relief than the
Gothic Revival style, because
relief carving is a more diffi-
cult technique. In many cases,
incised lettering of either style is
accentuated and enhanced with
bronze paint or gilding.
Dated personal stone books
are uncommon, but those with
dates typically show only the
year. A precise date is very rare;
these denote an important life
event, such as an anniversary,
birth, or death date. Sixty-five of
the 279 books in my collection
have inscribed dates, but 18 of
those are souvenir books, which
are usually dated. The earliest
dated personal book in my col-
lection has “1858.” The majority
of stone books carry dates rang-
ing from 1870 to about 1900.
The latest dated book in my col-
lection is from 1939. Most sou-
venir books are dated between
1900 and 1910.
Imagery
The most common images
on stone books are floral (99),
usually in the form of stylized
vines or branches with or with-
out flowers. Some of these are in
extremely high relief and exhibit
extraordinary carving skills.
The next most common are
religious motifs such as crosses
(34), anchors (8), and crowns.
The meaning of the cross and
the crown is obvious, but the
depiction of an anchor is usually
symbolic of hope, rather than a
nautical reference. A few have
the word “Hope” on or below
the anchor. A heart or hearts
(24 in my collection) is another
common motif, signifying love
or life but sometimes used pri-
marily as a decorative motif.
When used in combination with
a cross and/or anchor, the heart
symbolizes faith. Clasped hands
(17) are occasionally seen, usu-
ally with one female and one
male cuff, and not surprisingly,
similarly carved on gravestones
as representing the conviction
that death is only a temporary
separation. Ten books have
incised horseshoes, some with
an explicit “Good Luck” and
others with a clover leaf. Several
books are titled “Album.” Those
are large and thick and resemble
photo albums in their decoration;
several even have realistically
carved clasps.
Many stone books are embel-
lished with a combination of let-
tering and pictorial motifs, such
as initials with floral carving.
One of the most beautiful books
in the collection has a realistic
high-relief carving of a hand
holding a pen on a heart, signify-
ing writing on the heart.
Fraternal organizations’ ini-
tials or symbols are rarely seen.
My collection has only nine
books with Masonic compass
and square motifs or IOOF
symbols,
5
which seems sur-
prising given the large number
of fraternal order members in
America in the 19th and early
20th centuries. The scarcity of
stone books relating to fraternal
orders confirms my speculation
that they were principally made
as gifts to women, since few
women were involved in frater-
nal organizations.
It appears that some soldiers
in the Civil War, on both sides,
carved small (1" to 2" in height)
stone books that they likely car-
ried with them out of piety or
for good luck. They are very
scarce, crudely carved, with
dates (1863 and 1864) scratched
in, and sometimes with a place
name (“Chattanooga”). The
Museum of the Confederacy in
Richmond, Virginia, has three
of them, and there are five in my
collection. These books, carved
during the Civil War, should not
be confused with stone books
carved much later for veterans’
reunions, which were described
earlier in this article. The
Dallas
Morning News
in 1896, under
“Confederate Relics,” notes a
number of items contributed to
the Texas room of the Museum
of the Confederacy including a
“carved book, done in prison.”
6
Some stone books appear to
be memorials. Six books in my
collection have tintypes inset
into the cover, with a male name
under one. “Remember Me” and
“Forget Me Not” are uncommon
yet striking in their poignancy.
Clasped hands, as mentioned,
were a popular motif. Three
books in my collection are
explicit memorials: one to the
sinking of the Maine (“Remembr
[sic] the Maine”) and two to Wil-
liam McKinley’s assassination
(“It Is God’s Way / His Will Be
Done…”). Surprisingly, I have
never seen any books referring
to President Garfield’s assassina-
tion (1881), a period when stone
books were apparently popular.
An on-line search of digi-
tized old newspapers revealed
some surprising items, includ-
ing three accounts of prisoners
carving stone books while in
prison. According to an article
in the
Decatur Review
in 1910,
a prisoner who was convicted
of murder made a gift of a stone
Bible to the state attorney gen-
eral.
7
In another article, in the
Nevada State Journal
in 1882, a
prisoner convicted of homicide
gave a stone Bible to the sheriff.
8
A third article, in the
New York
Sun
, dated October 12, 1896,
describes an account involving
a stone Bible: “Finally six of
the gang, including Reno, were
captured at Jeffersonville, in the
southern part of the State. Five
were hanged by a mob. Reno
made his escape, went to Mis-
souri, was arrested on another
charge, and was sent to the pen-
itentiary. He served his time and
then came back into Indiana.
Walking into the office of the
general manager of the express
company, which was then at Cin-
cinnati, he carried in his hand a
large package. He made himself
known to the official, and then
opened his package. ‘See this,’
said he. ‘It is a stone Bible which
I cut while in the penitentiary.
I bring it to show to you that I
have reformed, that I believe in
its teachings, and that I will for-
ever in the future be a good man.
Will you let me go? If not, I am
here to take my medicine.’”
9
One large, beautifully carved
limestone book in my collection
is marked “Prison Life in Ana-
mosa,” the location of the Iowa
State Penitentiary. An older Iowa
dealer told me that while he has
seen several of these Anamosa
books, documented prison books
remain rare.
Of the approximately 15 men-
tions of stone books in various
late 19th- and early 20th-century
newspapers, none had explana-
tions of stone books, which sug-
gests that the books were widely
distributed and recognized.
As mentioned earlier, some
stone books were created as
souvenirs for tourists visiting
popular sites, such as Garden
of the Gods, scenic rock for-
mations near Colorado Springs,
and French Lick Springs and
West Baden, resorts in southern
Indiana. These were turned out
in relatively large numbers and
are marked with the site name
and usually dated in the range
of 1900 to 1910. Most souvenir
books are small, usually 2" high
x 1½", with amateurishly carved
inscriptions.
Stone books were made in
many countries, and their dec-
orative motifs and inscriptions
often give clues to their origin.
Although I focus on American
stone books, my collection con-
tains some books that clearly
were made elsewhere. There are
Relief cross (front); relief knot (back); “Album / 1883” (spine). Note
clasp and drilled decoration. Massive book.
“HOLY / BIBLE” with incised
gilt letters.
Relief deer in landscape (front); birds in tree (back). Note crisp carv-
ing. Catlinite (pipestone).
Relief horseshoe with clover (front); cross (back).
“Album” on scroll in high relief.
Massive book.
Neo-Gothic initials (front); “Nov. 17, 07” (back).
Deeply carved clasped hands between curtains (front); cross between
curtains (back); “LOVE” (spine).
High-relief hand holding a pen
and writing on a heart (front);
stars, wreath, blossom (back);
hearts and male’s head in relief
(spine). Beautifully carved, sculp-
tural. Note contrast between aca-
demic carving of the hand and the
folky back and spine. As good as it
gets with books.
☞