Among the steady stream of paperbacks and gently used novels dropped off at the Hermosa Beach Friends of the Library Bookstore, one recent donation stood out: an 1880 leather-bound family Bible with elaborate illustrations, family portraits and old newspaper clippings.
Weighing nearly 12 pounds, the ornate volume covered with gold-etched images of Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection and held together with a metal clasp, is a striking relic of faith and family of a bygone era.
“We’ve gotten some small Bibles before, some in decent shape, others disintegrating,” said Alex Seier, FOL Director of Development and Operations. “But not with a history like this. I think we knew when we got it that there was something special about it. It was a gut thing.”
Despite its deteriorating condition — pages falling out, the spine peeling, binding barely intact — Seier and the FOL volunteers recognized its historical and spiritual worth. They made it their mission to restore the aging Bible with its vibrant illustrations and unmistakable sense of sacred craftmanship.
Volunteers researched restorers and found Bella Becho Book & Print Bindery in Houston, Texas. With the blessing of the Bible’s donor, longtime Hermosa Beach resident Dan Inskeep, the team wrapped the fragile heirloom and sent it across the country.
“It was strange to just ship it off to someone,” Seier said.
The restoration took a year to complete and cost $1,700. One woman, who thumbed through the Bible before it went out, was so moved, she donated $400 towards the effort. The Inskeep family covered the rest.
The massive Bible was given to Inskeep’s great-great-grandparents as a wedding gift in 1880. Inskeep’s parents gave him the Bible, but for years it sat untouched on a shelf in the home office he shares with his wife.
When the couple downsized, they tried to find a place for their long-held possessions.
“We tried to find homes for things that we hadn’t touched in a long time, and this Bible, even though it was kind of a family heirloom, was one of them,” Inskeep said.
He hesitated to even open it.
“The pages were stuck together, and the binding was really brittle. I didn’t want to damage it more. But I suspected there were people out there who would find it interesting.”
Inside, the pages not only told the story of Scripture, but the story of an American family: handwritten marriage records with 1881 to 1951, birth and death entries spanning decades, black and white portraits of men and women standing on weathered porches.
One yellowed obituary from the 1920s eulogized Rebecca, wife of Gervase Watson and mother of 12 children, who died in McKeesport, PA.
“Forty years she had walked in the narrow way of Holy living and when her end came she was ready to depart which, to her, was better than to live.”
When Inskeep saw the restored Bible, he was stunned.
“They gave me a lot of chances to change my mind,” he said of the donation. “Even after they had gone through all the restoration effort, they kept inviting me up there. I think they were giving me a chance to renege, which I really respect.”
After showing it to his family, Inskeep decided to keep a digitized version.
“Anyone who has seen the Bible is intrigued and wants to know more,” Seier said. “They are so enamored with the history of it, by the journey of it, every step.”
They are also intrigued by the craftsmanship, including colored maps of the Holy Land and intricate drawings of Biblical scenes.
“It wasn’t printed on a Canon,” Seier said. “It was handwritten, hand drawn, hand colored. It is a small museum you don’t get on a phone.”
Rev. Rachel Nybeck of St. Cross Episcopal Church said Bibles like this one were a fixture of 19th-century Christian homes.
“It would get passed down and it not only had the word of God in it, but it also had family history in it,” she said.
“The Bible had a different weight and importance in the family structure and life than say it would today.”
In many homes, the Bible was the most valuable book, often read aloud by the fire and used to teach children about their faith, she said. “As Christians we talk about our place in God’s creation and the ongoing coming about of God’s kingdom, and the family Bible then would track the family and their place in the world.”
Seier hopes to share the restored Bible with others, beginning with local schools and
churches.
First stop, Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Hermosa Beach, where the Bible will be
displayed in a removable glass case on wheels.
“It is made to be interacted with,” Seier said.
The Inskeep Bible will be unveiled on Sept. 21 after the 10am mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 340 Massey Street, Hermosa Beach. It will be on display at OLG school until the end of the year. For an appointment to view the Bible contact the school office, (310) 373-7486.ER
