Alan Cornett's Thoughts on the Tan Allan's ESV1

Alan Cornett received his tan Allan's ESV1 from EvangelicalBible.com, then snapped some fantastic photos to post to his blog Theosebes, along with some thoughts on the edition. He captures the grain of the cover particularly well, so I encourage you to click over and take a look. Here's the link:

"The Cashmere of Bible Covers"

To those of you who haven't followed the commentary, I want to repeat some information here. The ESV1 uses a text block printed in China by Collins for the UK edition of the ESV. The text block says it was printed and bound in China, which is true for the regular Collins editions, but the Allan's editions are actually bound in London.

Comments

[Alan]

Thanks for the link. And now I'm waiting on a Pitt Minion in brown goatskin. *sigh*

[Robert Lombardi]

I bought 2 ESV1T's. One for me and the other for my wife. One thing that the photos have yet to capture is the visual view of the reader when reading the text. The tan has a very beautiful view of the text with the red / gold border that is created by the paper edges when the book is opened and framed by the gold line and semi-yapp edges.

Also, under warmer indoor lighting, the tan book has a very warm redish golden radiant glow.

Of the two tan ESV's they have noticably different grain. I can tell mine apart from my wife's very easily. Alan Cornett's bible grain looks a lot like my wife's. The grain on my ESV1T is much more random, with long grain lines moving in various directions versus the almost uniform fine grain pattern that both Alan and my wife have.

I'll take some photos sometime soon of both the reading view, the warm glow and the differences in grain and post them soon.

[DavidT]

That is a great observation Robert. You are right, this bible is just a pleasure to read, partly because of the way the tan color, with the red on gold of the edges, frames the text block when you are reading. It really is a stunning color scheme. Coupled with the wonderful feel of the leather it the whole package enhances the experience of immersing yourself in the word. I am very pleased with mine.

[PDS]

Received my Allan's ESV Tan Bible. I had bought the Tan one about a year ago and ended up shipping it back due to a number of issues. For those wondering, there is no comparison between the two. The new one nails it. No wavy pages, no bleeding of the red dye, printing seems to be ok throughout (my previous one faded with use where my fingers touched the text, so we'll see how this fairs), binding is strong, ribbons wonderful, leather is perfect...yes, perfect.

[Robert Lombardi]

I uploaded to the link below, photos of the different grains, the reading view, and I tried to capture the amazing glow.

Enjoy.
http://lombardispot.smugmug.com/gallery/6308341_2S7YG//397809446_oY9S3

[Stuart]

Fantastic photo's Robert - thanks for sharing------

[PDS]

That grain is way different. Are they both Highland Goatskin? It almost looks like a regular goatskin cover. Mine is like yours.

[Robert Lombardi]

It's settled. Nicholas at R.L. Allan Publishers looked at the photos and confirmed that they are both Highland Goatskin.

Here's the information he sent.

"What an interesting discussion! You can be assured that the two ESV1Ts have Highland goatskin and the features you are picking up really show how natural the Highland goatskin is. Each Bible is different because the skins reflect the individual goat who gave his coat for the Bible, as it were.

Highland goatskin is made from superior skins which are each different regarding grain and perhaps thickness even. Very little is done to each skin apart from tanning and colouring to produce the unique feel and flexibility and wonderful leathery smell. So no wonder each ESV1T is a bit different. No two Bibles are exactly the same.We noticed as we sent them out that there are small differences in weight which must surely be down to slight variations in skins.

So we shouldn't expect uniformity... unlike an embossed leather which has an artificially produced natural finish. Most Bibles are made that way.

Highland goatskin is the real thing and you have it."

The difference actually serves a very practical purpose in my case. Since my wife and I have the same ESV1T's the drastic difference in grain patterns makes it very easy for us to tell them apart.

[PDS]

Interesting. Thanks for the insight.

[David Nelson]

I am interested to know whether the photos of the ESV1T posted on Alan's site and this site more accurately show the true color of this edition as compared to the photos on Evangelicalbible.com. I prefer the color of the tan in Alan's and Mark's photos. Thanks

[J. Mark Bertrand]

David, it's one of those tricky colors that looks different depending on the light. My photo was taken in natural light, no flash, and I believe Alan's used artificial light but no flash (as most of my studio shots here do). I'm not sure about the photo at EvangelicalBible.com. I'd say that in Alan's and to an extend in mine, the light is bringing out the orange hues in the tan, whereas the EvangelicalBible.com photo seems more brown. Right now, the light in my office is overcast, and I'm seeing less orange than in my photo, but more than I see in the EvangelicalBible.com photo. To make a long story short -- yours will look like all three, depending on the light, but you'll definitely see more of the orange/tan tone than you get on the EB.com photo.

This is one of the beauties of non-black, by the way. There's a complexity to the color. I'm not saying black is never complex, but well ... I can't remember anyone ever asking whether a Bible was black like in this picture, or black like in that. :)

[David Nelson]

Thanks very much, Mark--both for this answer and this wonderful site!

[Robert Lombardi]

With digital photos, color accuracy is a big problem.

In my case, I took photos with a Camera that has very accurate color reproduction. And then in Photoshop I've already spent hours to calibrate to have accurate colors, using a Greytag MacBeth and some fairly complex adjustments in ACR Raw Calibration tab. Then I use a color calibrated monitor when making adjustments.

To be honest, I didn't use a white balance target when taking the photos. That would have eliminated any white balance issues, but when I viewed the photos on my color calibrated monitor they looked so true to life that I didn't bother retaking the photos with the white target. Usually my camera does a very good job of white balancing in natural light, which is what I took these photos under.

I think the Evangelical Bible does show how it can look different in different qualities of light, but I would also add that I think they might have some color inaccuracy too. Some of the photos have some blackpoint problems as the black looks very dusty and greyish.

When I first received the Allan ESV1T I was also a little unsure about the color, but it really has grown on both me and my wife and it's certainly a very beautiful color for a bible. It has a warm richness to it that is complimented by the redish golden pages and the modern classic serif typeface. I tried to capture all those qualities in the series of photos I took here. If you haven't already browsed my photos, please, take a look.

http://lombardispot.smugmug.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=6308341&AlbumKey=2S7YG

[David Nelson]

Superb images, Robert. I should have paid more attention to your earlier post. I, too, use a hardware-calibrated monitor and am sensitive to the variations that can exist in color images displayed on the Internet. I suspected there might be a blackpoint issue with some of the evangelicalbible.com images. Thanks to yours and the others available here, I now have an excellent feel for the true color of this edition.

[Jeff Seymour]

Look, shmook! These bibles would be exquisite if they were sky blue pink! I think I'm going to have to get an ESV1T just to see for myself. My black one is getting a little lonely!

[DavidT]

Now that I have spent some time with this bible I have to admit that for all the elegance in the binding of ESV1T, I am a bit disappointed in the text block. The paper is a little thin, and the ghosting from the print on the back of the page is significant to my eye. I love the feel of this bible, and I do find myself reaching for it often. But truth be told, it has not surpassed the Allan's NIV Bold Print as my favorite. That is still my "go-to" bible, because of the wonderful text block, bold print, and lack of ghosting. I wish they would have used the same layout, font, and above all PAPER in the ESV1's. Still, if the ESV is your favorite translation - it is a beautiful thing.

[Mike Smith]

David I compared the earlier edition of htre tan ESV witht he new Black edition. I found the same ghosting but the print is darker then the old edition. I like the darker print.