First Look: Personal Reference ESV

My Personal Reference ESV is in the mail, but thanks to Scott Kay I can share a few photos of the genuine leather edition. First, let's take a look at the inside:

Scott placed a Compact ESV on top for comparison purposes. As you can see, the Personal Reference is a true single column, paragraphed text, with references on the inside margin. The type size is small (7.4 pt) but the proportions look good to me. Scott also confirmed that what Crossway said about the paper quality is true: it seems better than the stuff they've used in the past. Also, he saw visible stitching between the pages, and no sign of this being a glue-and-stitch hybrid. So we know for sure that the genuine leather edition is sewn -- insert sigh of relief here.

My first impression of the layout is that the single column setting looks good. But there's a little bit of "studybiblitis" in evidence with the superfluous lines bracketing the text and the gray block behind the introductions. I'm reserving judgment until I've had a chance to spend some time with one in person.

As you can see in the picture above, the proportions are similar to those of a Cambridge Pitt Minion edition. That really comes as a surprise to me. Crossway has delivered the Personal Reference in a more compact form than I expected. When I review the Personal Reference in earnest, I'll have more to say about this, but for now let me just note that I'm impressed. I wouldn't have minded a thicker book with larger type, but the comparison shot is pretty compelling.

Of course, this is a genuine leather binding, which means it's stiff and not very pliable. After a minimum of use, Scott's cover is already jutting up into the air. Someone asked recently in a comment why you'd want to rebind a Bible that's already genuine leather. The picture illustrates one reason. As far as I know, there aren't any plans for Crossway to offer the Personal Reference in calfskin (or the wonderful cordovan calf), but perhaps if the edition is successful, that might change.

More about the Personal Reference very soon. In the meantime, those of you who already have them are welcome to chime in here -- and if you blog about it, feel free to post the link in the comments.

Comments

[matt blair]

Looks great.....I'm heading over to the Westminster bookstore in Philly in a few weeks (once I heal up from my surgery) to buy one. They have it for 45 percent off.

Can't wait for your review Mark. :)

What's the difference between the genuine and bonded leathers???

[Mark (the other one)]

The comparison picture with the Pitt Minion was an "aha" moment and makes me wonder how many times a Bible's spine needs to tell me which translation is tucked inside.

Is three times--abbreviation, logo, spelled out--necessary? Compared to the Pitt, the design of the spine looks cluttered.

[Rob Edwards]

I bought the genuine leather edition yesterday. Promptly took it back to the office where I carefully opened it, spine against the desk, a few pages at a time alternating from the front and back until it was laying open flat. I am very impressed with the binding, the leather (altho I agree that calfskin would have been a nice option), and the font/type size. Much preferable to the compact edition.

The one drawback is that it has only one ribbon marker. While most purist may freak out, my secretary (a good cradle Episcopalian)taught me how to take some ribbon and affix it to a piece of card stock, then fold it over and cut it to slide down in the spine. It's not thick enough to cause any distension of the binding. I use two ribbons folded in half, so the net result is a total of five markers--the original ribbon, plus two that fit conveniently toward the front, and two that fit conveniently toward the back. It's not a completely ideal solution, but it works well for me.

[Ryan Fehrmann]

I love that this edition appeared, would so much like to use it, but 7.4 point is too small for me. I can do 8 if its a really good font, but I much prefer a 9 point. I'm not that old, beginning my third decade, but I like to be comfortable when I read and Crossways products have been a challenge. I'm looking forward to what Cambridge will do since I find their fonts easier to read across the board.

[ElShaddai Edwards]

While I'm not an ESV guy, I loved the line about "studybiblitis". I haven't seen a study bible in the past 10 years that hasn't been afflicted with this need to cram design bits all over the page. I have the Oxford Study Bible with the Revised English Bible translation and love its clean layout aesthetics -- I wish more Bibles would just keep to the basics.

Love the inside reference column -- Zondervan, B&H and Foundation would do well to pay attention here.

[Rusty]

Mine arrived today and it looks great! Everything you wrote seems to be pretty accurate from what I can tell. The lines and gray backgrounds don't bother me too much, but they seem to be even less intrusive in person (you may disagree). The paper is pretty good. I have never seen a Single Column Reference so I don't know how bad that paper was, but I can certainly see some bleed-through in the Personal Sized Reference. However, before you panic, it's not extremely noticeable, especially when you're not looking for it. One thing about the layout that I didn't notice until opening up my copy today was that the chapter numbers look huge compared to the surrounding text. Also, the all-caps LORD in the OT looks small and weird when it appears in the bold section headings. Overall, though, I am extremely pleased.

[matt blair]

Does anyone have information on how they apply the gold to the edging of bibles? I'm interested in stuff like that and would be interested to see either pictures or a link to some more info.

Thanks all!

[matt]

matt b- I have limited knowledge on the gilding but do know that most bible publishers (like crossway) use a spray on Gold "paint", where as Allans & Sons (and maybe cambridge) use a gold foil that is applied by pressure and heat, and which also gives a more elegant look.

I have googled that subject before and not found much...you can find tidbits but it seems that gold gilding on page edges is not a popular topic...though you can get good search results on gilding since it is used in various applications.

[matt blair]

Thanks matt...

I like the gold myself. The edging on my 3 year old ESV has completely worn off and was interested in having it "redone". :)

[Jerry]

I think that I will wait for the Goatskin Cambridge Pitt-Minion ESV. It should only be about 3-4 months until it out.

[Greg Terry]

Got my Personal Refernce ESV today. It is indeed a very fine Bible. I suppose a goatskin binding would be nice, but considering the price I am VERY pleased with it. The ESV started as an experiment for me. I have been an NRSV advocate. Now I own 4 ESV Bibles. Still experimenting, but for my personal study, the ESV and my NOAB are my favorites.

Thanks again Mark for such a fantastic blog!

[Steve]

Judging by the type and layout samples of other Pitt-Minions that I've seen online (NKJV, NASV), I'm not very excited about this as an option. It looks more difficult to read than even my Compact ESV. It's just something about the type- the kerning is set too tight, and jams the letters too close together. The font size of the compact ESV is slightly smaller as well (6.2 vs. 6.75).

[Steve Robenalt]

I had a chance to look at one yesterday at a local store and I compared the type with the ESV Journaling Bible. I believe the Journaling Bible type is 7.5 compared to this one at 7.4. I was surprised to find that the text on the Personal Reference edition looked larger or at leased it was taller, probably due to the different style. But in some ways the Journaling edition appeared easier to read, perhaps due to the color of the paper and the text is more bold.

Regarding the Cambridge Pitt-Minion edition coming, can someone tell me if that will be single column?

[Brian]

I am awaiting the arrival of my copy from Amazon, and I looked at one in person at a bookstore. I plan to immediately turn around and send mine off to Mechling Bookbindery. I plan on having it rebound in chocolate goatskin with an extra 1/4" of cover to get a semi yapp effect. I am going to ask that they give the spine nice right angles, at least as much as possible. I will be sure to share a picture of the finished product in a couple of months.

[Jerry]

I am almost certain the the Pitt-Minion ESV will be a double column format. Personally, I have never found double column to be a problem.

[Jerry]

I am almost certain the the Pitt-Minion ESV will be a double column format. Personally, I have never found double column to be a problem.

[Greg Terry]

Personally, I think we should petition R.L. Allan to offer the Personal Reference edition. I would DEFINITELY buy one as soon as it was available.

[Rod Summers]

Have been looking at a copy of the ESV Personal reference all weekend. My jury is still out. I had been looking forward to this edition for some time. To agree other readers the font is very small and difficult to read in a single-column format. Mark has written some things on this before (single vs. double column, difficultly in Bible sizing, etc.) but I think this is one where the font is not "healthy" for a single column format. Also, it is not very dark and I think makes it difficult to see. I had planned to teach and preach from it this weekend but found it difficult to "not get lost" on the page if that makes sense. If you are reading, look up or away, and then try to go back to a passage, it's difficult to have that sensory knowledge of where you were. The words just seem to run together. Guess my only hope is the wide margin Cambridge ESV or hope that they take this personal reference to the same size as the current Wide Margin ESV (double column). that might help with proportions.

[kyle]

Mine arrived from Amazon today. I got the genuine leather so that, if I wanted to do a re-binding, I could. Unfortunately, I am going to have to agree with Steve and Rod. The print, while slightly bigger than my Pitt Minion, is actually not as easy to read as the Pitt Minion. The text seems almost gray compared to the bold print in the Pitt Minion. I simply do not know if it is the paper, the font, or the combination of a lot of factors. Bottom line: This Bible is harder to read than the Pitt Minion. I love the size of the Bible, and I love that it is single column and paragraphed! I am happy I purchased one (it was so cheap and I will find a use for it), but I cannot see spending the money for a rebind on this Bible. It grieves me to say all of this because I feel that Crossway is working harder than any other publisher to get out choices for the purchaser. This is the primary reason why I am satisfied I purchased this Bible. I am happy to support a company who listens to its clients and tries hard. Finally, I think I may actually like the line that goes around the text to separate it from the reference notes and footnotes.

[Ralph]

I am glad to see that I am not the only one that is disappointed with the light print impression. I just the following in an email to Crossway:

"The quality of the print in ESV Personal Reference Bible I recently purchased is uneven. Some pages/sections are noticeably lighter than others. Also, the print in the entire Bible seems to be fairly light, especially as compared to my Cambridge NASB Pitt Minion. Am I being picky, or is my ESV Bible defective?"

[Brian]

Ralph, will you please let us know what Crossway's response is?

[kyle]

Ralph, I would be interested to know what they say as well, and obviously, I will be interested to hear what JMark has to say in his review.

[Ralph]

No problem--I will post a response if I get one. ;-)

[Steve]

Ooops. I think my criticisms above are being incorrectly interpreted as applying to the new ESV Personal Reference Bible. I'm actually criticizing the Pitt-Minion type/readability/kerning etc, not the new ESV. I would love to see these 2 side by side for better comparison.

[Russ Atmore]

I am not impressed with the Personal ESV - the font is too small, though it is a good font type. The page lighting is poor and easily detected. The genuine leather is simply the old bonded leather. Frankly, I think it is a disgrace to call to genuine leather. I would not have minded if they had gone for a larger font with more pages.
All round, in my opinion, it is simply not very good - perhaps that is yet to come!

[matt blair]

wow...there seems to be quite a split in opinions!!!!!

[Susann Irwin]

I am frequently able to view and print out Bible formats/fonts for a Bible I'm interested in at www.christianbook.com. This might be helpful to some before purchasing a Bible.

[Marion Hawkins]

I concur with Russ. Although I admired the single column printing, the type was too small hence I returned it to Amazon.