Bible Design and Binding

R. L. Allan's Oxford Brevier Clarendon Reference Edition

Earlier this year, I reviewed the R. L. Allan's edition of the Oxford Brevier Blackface KJV, concluding that the cover is magnificent and the blackface interior is one of those love-it-or-hate-it propositions, a little too dark for my taste. So it was only natural that I'd take an interest in the less emphatic Brevier Clarendon. Reviewing the list of editions at Bibles-Direct.com, I noticed that the Brevier Clarendon was available in a "brown, buffalo grain calfskin, leather lined in tan." Given my predilection for brown these days, I figured that was perfect.

Above: The Brevier Clarendon in Brown Calfskin (Allan 6C) on top, compared to the Brevier Blackface in Black Highland Goatskin (Allan 20).

According to the measurements given on the site, the Blackface is slightly thinner and taller than the Clarendon, but when I stack them next to each other, the proportions look pretty much identical. Inside, the Clarendon offers a couple of advantages. In addition to the type not being quite so black (though it's by no means light), the self-pronouncing feature -- which in the Blackface goes so far as to break the name "Jesus" into two accented syllables every time it appears -- is absent, and brief chapter summaries are added. The cyclopedic concordance, which does double duty (as the name suggests) as both concordance and succinct encyclopedia, is present in both. The pagination is the same, so I assume they're identical.

Contacting Abba Bibles

In case some of you missed this in the comments, I wanted to call your attention to this information left by Lorena Villeda de Barrón from Abba Bibles. She thanks Cristian Franco -- as do we all! -- for sharing his rebound Bibles with us, and the provides information for those of you wishing to contact Abba Bibles. Here's the full message:

"Cristian, We really appreciated all your effort to show the people our work. Abba Bibles is ministry that hire mainly single mothers and special people also. It’s a blessing of our God ´to serve all of you. Our website is under construction, but you can be in touch with us by e-mail as Cristian Franco informs you.

God bless you,
Lorena Villeda de Barrón
Abba bibles
International Projects
Phone 5255-5672-9679 / Fax 5255- 5243-8418.
lorena@abbabibles.com
Joshua 1:8"

Needless to say, if any of you do have a Bible rebound by Abba Bibles, I expect some photos!

Compact Thinline ESV from LeatherBibles.com

According to the ESV site, the new Deluxe Compact edition will be available tomorrow. My Amazon pre-order says it will ship Friday. I mentioned this edition back in February when it was announced, mainly because it will feature a sewn binding, making it a great candidate for rebinding. Given my affection for "itsy bitsy Bibles," it's no surprise that I plan to get a lot of use out of this one. In honor of its coming, though, I thought I might share some photos of the edition I've been using in the meantime.

You've seen photos of it here and there, but I don't think I've ever written about this compact ESV at much length. It's an edition that used to be offered by LeatherBibles.com, a compact thinline ESV rebound in supple tan calfskin. (Based on all the talk recently about Abba Bibles, I suspect that's who's responsible for the excellent cover.) This little Bible is truly a thing of beauty -- the graceful semi-yapp edges, the soft leather, two ribbons. Until you open it up, that is. You see, this edition breaks Rebinding Rule #1: "Start with a sewn binding." Because the compact thinlines are, of course, glued.

Mark Strobel Updates His Stack

Mark Strobel started the "stack photo" craze back in November when he shared a photo of Bibles he'd acquired "under the Bertrand influence." Now he's updated the stack, and thrown in some photos of an interesting (and tiny) Book of Common Prayer, and a hard-to-find Cambridge calfskin edition of the NRSV. Let's take a look.

Among the pictures you'll find attached are a revised and better quality picture of the "Bertrand Influence" stack. From bottom to top:

--Cambridge Wide Margin with Renaissance Faire Leather Cover
--Cambridge Calfskin NRSV
--ESV Cordovan Calfskin Classic Thinline
--Two ESV Portfolio Thinlines, including the brown one which survived a car accident that the car itself did not survive!
--Two editions of the Cambridge NRSV New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs

That's all your influence.

Opening a New Bible

Phil Auxier asked a question recently, and I'd be interested in hearing what other readers think.

Q. "Is there a way to open [a new Bible], bend it, etc, that will give it a longer use? I had always heard that you should open it in the middle, then alternate gradually towards the back from the left and right of center."

A. I've heard the same thing, but I'm skeptical. I doubt the way you first open a Bible has much impact on its longevity -- assuming you don't do anything crazy. When I receive a new Bible, the first thing I do is pull the pages apart, since modern gilding tends to result in sticky edges. Until they're separated, the text block won't "flow" properly. Aside from that, though, I don't do anything special, or observe any rules about careful handling. So far, I have never experienced any problems as a result of this negligence. (Knock on wood.)

Having said that, there's probably some truth in the idea that, until a Bible has been used a bit, you should be careful how you treat the cover. Some loosen (in a good way) and grow more limp with use, so perhaps you might observe a "breaking-in" period. I don't, but that doesn't mean it isn't prudent.

I'm interested in what other people think. Does anyone have a special ritual when opening or breaking in a new Bible? Any care instructions to pass along?

Custom Bible Covers from Renaissance Art

You don't have to rebind your Bible to add a nice cover. As Robert Jimenez reports at Weird Thinkers, you can look up the fine folks at Renaissance Art and order a custom leather book cover. Robert's, which set him back just under $40, fits quite nicely and arrived in a matter of days. Follow the link to his site for photos.

A Glimpse of the ESV Study Bible (Sort Of)

If you attended the Together for the Gospel conference last week, you might have gotten a glimpse of the ESV Study Bible mock-up displayed at the Crossway booth. Scott Kay did. What's more, he snapped some photos so the rest of us could have a look! Scott writes:

The lighting was not great, so I have tried to adjust them to improve the shots. They took the book of John and bound it in the mock-up over and over until they achieved the same thickness of the final product.

A few things to note:

This is a single column paragraphed edition. In fact, here are some interesting tidbits from the brochure (I've included a shot of this info in the brochure):

Pages and size: pages - 2752; trim size - 6 1/2 x 9 1/4 (and they don't publish this, but it's really thick. I'm guessing nearly 2")

Paper - high-opacity, high-quality French Bible Paper (It does appear to be quite nice about only allowing minimal bleed-through, as the paper does indeed seem quite nice.)

Typesetting - 9 point single column paragraphed; 7.25 point double-column for notes. Full color throughout for maps, charts, etc. (see photos) (although it exceeds 12 words per line, like the PR Edition)

Binding: All editions are Smyth sewn. Available in hardcover, TruTone, Bonded Leather, Genuine Leather, and Premium Calfskin

Available Oct. 15,2008

I asked about the creeds and confessions, and there is no plan to include them. Yet, this seems poised to compete directly with the MacArthur Study Bible and even the Reformation SB. It seems like it will be quite conservative evangelical, and even reformed in leanings (at least) (based on the listing of scholars who have contributed notes for each book of the Bible - it reads like a who's who of conservative scholars). In addition to 25,000+ notes there are over 50 articles, 200 full color maps, over 200 charts, 80,000 cross references, over 40 full color illustrations (like of the temple, etc.)...but who's counting?

Now the photos:

Does Leather Hasten Acceptance?

When Crossway's Stephen Smith told me about research suggesting religious technology is more likely to catch on when it's upholstered in leather, I thought he was making fun of me. Apparently not. Check out the info at the ESV Blog, which links to my iPhone post and the research both.

1961 NEB New Testament in Blue Morocco

Pushing fifty and rendered obsolete by an excellent revision, there's still something charming about the New English Bible. Maybe it's the text setting -- my favorite of all time -- but we'll get into that in a moment. For now, here's a fine example: a 1961 edition of the NEB New Testament bound in blue Morocco, still in beautiful shape. I found this recently on eBay and paid a whopping $10.

Spanish Bible: "Dios Habla Hoy," Rebound by Abba Bibles

We've already seen three of Cristian Frano's editions bound by Abba Bible, and here comes the fourth and final one. It's the Bible Cristian uses for preaching, study and everyday reading.

As I said before, in each of these posts, I'll begin with Cristian's description, then share the photos. The captions are written by me. So with no further ado:

Spanish Bible "Dios Habla Hoy"

This Bible is the "Dios Habla Hoy" translation (like the CEV in English), made by the United Bible Societies directly from the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. This is the best Bible I know to share the Word of God with non-believers, because it's easy to understand and is very fine in its language.

March was my birthday month, so I gave myself a gift! I sent a copy to Mexico (yes, from Argentina...!), and they rebound it for me in my favourite color: blue! I love this Bible, and nowadays it is my primary Bible, which I'm using in preaching ministry, study and everyday reading.

It's Smyth-sewn and bound in blue calfskin with leather linings, red under gold page edges, and two ribbon markers. My name is embossed in gold on the cover.

-- Cristian Franco

Above: It's always risky to judge from photos alone, but this one looks especially soft to the touch.