ABSTRACT
In 1866, W. Mack, a Bristol publisher and bookseller, invented a new publishing genre: the Birthday Scripture Text Book.1 Mack merged the decorative appeal of the gift book, the interactive functions of the diary and album, and the chronological structure of a daily calendar, with the text book, a devotional genre which provided readers with short biblical quotations useful for study, personal devotion, or sermon preparation. Mack’s book provided a daily quotation from the Bible and a brief passage from a hymn or poem for each day of the year, along with blank, ruled pages upon which birthdays, autographs, or short notes could be written (see Figure 5.1).
