Bible Design and Binding

First Glimpse of Chocolate Brown Allan's ESV1

Thanks to Daniel Holle, whose son popped into the Glasgow storefront of R. L. Allan's and snapped these photos, I can now share some images of the new ESV1 BR -- the same Classic Reference layout but with a chocolate brown highland goatskin cover and three ribbons: one green, one purple, and one brown. Over the holidays, I've gotten e-mail about this edition pretty much every day, so I just want to let everyone know that (a) yes, I know about them, (b) I'm expecting one to review, and (c) I plan to do a side-by-side post of the three current color options: black, tan, and chocolate brown.

With no further ado, let's take a look at the photos:

Above: The three editions of the Allan's ESV1 -- tan, chocolate brown, and black.

Above: A peek inside the tan edition.

Above: The chocolate brown, with the brown, purple and green ribbons displayed.

More Vintage Bible Auctions

A couple of impressive offerings came to my attention this morning, so I figured I'd pass them along. One is a vintage Cambridge KJV Turquoise Bible in saddle brown antique French Morocco. The Turquoise was a larger format, just over 6x9. I picked up a red cowhide one in Dublin back in the 90s, and it's quite pleasant to read. The cover on the one at auction (which dates from the 70s) looks beautiful, and it comes in the gold box.

KJV Vintage Cambridge Turquoise Bible

The same seller is offering a Harper Brevier Text Bible bound in brown alligator grained calfskin. From the photos, it looks like an amazing and unique offering reminiscent of the extravagant editions I posted about last month. Check it out:

KJV Vintage Harper Brevier Text Bible w/ Concordance

By the way, if you're thinking of taking the vintage plunge, it's worth checking out Ben Ting's piece about a vintage Cambridge he picked up recently. It's a beauty. In fact, he has a number of Bible-related posts complete with lovely photos, well worth viewing.

ESV Blank Bible for Sale

If you've been itching for a blank Bible -- with pages for notetaking interleaved -- but like me you're not handy enough to even attempt the job, there's now hope. The intrepid Matt Blair at The Foolish Galatian has made one for sale. Originally an Outreach ESV, it's now spiral bound in four volumes, ready for a lifetime's worth of annotation. The price is set at $120, and if you're interested you'll need to contact Matt directly. Follow the link for more information and a photo:

ESV Blank Bible for Sale

There's only one, but who knows? If we're nice, maybe Matt will make some more.

Deluxe Compact ESV in Tan Pigskin by Leonard's Book Restoration

I get a lot of e-mail asking questions along these lines: "I've just purchased the amazingly beautiful new Bible you recommended. Now how can I take care of this thing so it stays pristine?" Sometimes I'm tempted to suggest dropping it from a second floor window. Not because the sudden impact will preserve the cover's glossy sheen, but because the resulting damage will make the idea of "taking care of" your new Bible seem silly. 

Don't get me wrong: I understand the impulse. And share it. But the reason to invest in a quality Bible isn't so it can look shiny and new for years to come. You spend the extra so, when you don't take care of it, the thing won't fall apart. 

After all, if regular use turns into abuse and things get really bad, you can always have your Bible rebound. That's what I did recently, though in this case it was a preemptive rebind. I'll warn you now, it won't be to everyone's taste. But hopefully this will serve as a first-hand introduction to the subject of rebinding, and introduce you to an excellent rebinder: Leonard's Book Restoration. 

So what did I do? I had a Deluxe Compact ESV rebound in natural tan pigskin, simple as that. (In the photo above, you can see the result on top, compared to a vintage pigskin wallet below.) First let me explain why I chose the Deluxe Compact, and then we'll get to the pigskin.

For years now, by bang-em-up, go-everywhere Bible has been one of the original Compact ESVs rebound in tan calfskin, which my wife ordered for me from LeatherBibles.com as a Christmas present. It's a rugged little Bible, giving the lie to the notion that there's anything "delicate" about quality editions, requiring special love and care. 

But it suffers from a couple of drawbacks, the main one being that the text is smaller than a Cold War microdot. Now I happen to like small type, because it goes hand in hand with a compact Bible. But even I think there's a problem when I'm holding a book six inches from my eyes just to make out the words. Crossway agreed, which is why they introduced the Deluxe Compact, which is ever-so-slightly larger than the original, with a darker, easier to read font. The moment it came out, I decided to upgrade. Sadly, while the Deluxe Compacts feature sewn text blocks, there wasn't a calfskin edition available. To replace my stand-by, I'd have to have the Deluxe Compact rebound.

Another Auction: Vintage Cambridge KJV in Blue Water Buffalo Calf

A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. I'm still recovering from the holidays, but in the meantime I though I'd share an interesting vintage Cambridge auction. This is for a Cameo edition bound in blue water buffalo grain calfskin, still in the original gold box:

KJV Vintage Cambridge Cameo Bible

Enjoy!