Jerry Minor's Stack of Bibles (And A Bonus)

Today, we have another "stack" to feature. This one belongs to reader Jerry Minor:

From top to bottom, here's what we have, in Jerry's own words:

Cambridge NIV New Testament. As you already know this is very small yet still has a clear enough font for casual reading.

Crossway ESV New Testament in leather. This could have been much better than it is, but still serves duty in small pockets.

Cambridge Book of Common Prayer in fairly decent leather. I am Baptist, but my Mother grew up in the Church of England, and I make reference to this work from time to time in honor of her upbringing.

Nelson NASB New Testament with Psalms in fairly nice leather. I purchased this New Testament from a colporteur in South Korea in 1983. This has accompanied me on many hospital and home visits in the years since.

Cambridge Pitt Minion NASB text only Bible in Berkshire Leather. This was my preaching Bible for almost 12 years prior to switching to the ESV. I have tried in vain to find another one of these new in the box. The font is still very easy on these aging eyes, and the quality is excellent. This Bible accompanies me to work everyday in my briefcase.

Brand new Nelson Signature Pocket Companion in KJV. The calfskin is very soft and flexible, and the quality appears very good except for the fact that the gold embossing on the spine is sloppy. I anticipate that the "slop" will wear off in short order.

Another new Bible, a Pitt Minion NASB reference in goatskin. Probably the nicest Bible, quality wise, that I have ever handled. It would be better if it was text only like my older Pitt Minion. I will
purchase an ESV Pitt Minion as soon as they are released so as to keep this one company.

Marshall Interlinear Greek New Testament from Zondervan. A very nice burgundy leather that is very soft and supple. This is a very high quality Bible, much better than anything else that I have seen come out of Zondervan.

B.B. Kirkbride Thompson Chain Reference KJV Bible. I think that I have had this one since the late-1970's. The leather has gotten better with age, and it has held together very well despite the number of very thin pages.

Zondervan NIV Reference Bible. This was presented to me at my ordination in 1989, and is the only Bible that I own with my name embossed on the cover. The quality is nowhere as good as the Marshall Interlinear, which is a shame.

Oxford/Cambridge Revised English Bible. This has a very nice grain to the cover and is very nicely done. I don't know much about this collaboration, but I have a feeling that both publishing houses wanted to shine. I picked this one up in a used book store in pristine condition for about $10.

ESV Premium leather thinline. This is my current preaching Bible. It is very nice that the pagination is identical in this Bible as well as the pew Bibles, compact thinlines, Journaling Bibles, and Daily Reading Bible. This is my #3 nicest Bible, behind the older Pitt Minon and the new goatskin Pitt Minion.

Thanks for sharing, Jerry! As a bonus, for those of you interested in the Oxford/Cambridge REB that Jerry mentions, I'm going to share some additional photos of that edition. Here you go:

Above, the Oxford/Cambridge REB (at right) is compared to the current Cambridge edition of the REB bound in French Morocco. I prefer the grain of the older edition, and much prefer the plain cover.

Above, the inside spreads compared. The Oxford/Cambridge REB (in foreground) is very similar to the current edition, but it begins new books in mid-page, as you can see. Personally, I prefer to see a new page with each new book, as in the current edition.

Above, a comparison of the spines. The grain is more pronounced in the older edition, which also has more of a shine to it. The French Morocco of the current edition has a more matte finish, and is more supple out of the box. Jerry picked his copy of the Oxford/Cambridge edition for $10; I found mine for about $25. If you can locate them, they're well worth having.

Comments

[Scott]

Another great stack, and I appreciated the comparison of REB editions. The REB is one of my favorite translations, and I wish it were more available and better used.

One of the confusions about the older Oxford/Cambridge edition is that the same duo of ISBNs is found in both the hardcover and leather (bonded?) editions. I once ordered this by ISBN from an independent seller and got a hardcover when I expected leather.

I prefer the typeface (Photina) in the Oxford/Cambridge edition and can live with the practice of starting new books on the same page as the end of the previous book. The Swift font in the later editions looks too generic to me, somehow. I think it bears some resemblances to what one used to get if one printed text in the Macintosh's screen font New York. This used to happen all too often where I work among people who never gave a thought to what font they were using and just stuck with the default. The current REB's Swift has that baggage for me, so I like the more strongly serifed Photina.

Glad I have the leather Ox/Cam Photina REB that used to belong to a beloved Episcopal deacon who passed away last year at age 91.

[Jerry]

Mark,

Thanks for featuring my "stack". What more do you know about the Oxford/Cambridge collaboration on the REB? Do you know if there was any special reason why it was published under both names, and if so why did Oxford receive top billing? I note from Scott that this might be a bonded leather, but if so it is better than any I have seen.

Your copy probably cost $15 more because it has the Apocrypha ;>)

[J. Mark Bertrand]

Jerry, the one I have is sewn and bound in Berkshire leather, which according to Cambridge is "a term for pigskin — the material most commonly used in bookbinding when 'genuine leather' is the description used." The date inside is 1989, so I assume this is a joint edition released when the REB first made its debut.