Bible Design and Binding

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.

TNIV Reference Bible Rebound by Mechling

Jeremie Wade sent me a detailed write-up and a host of pictures of his TNIV Reference Bible, rebound by Mechling Bookbindery. The fact that the TNIV Reference Bible features a Smyth-sewn binding makes it an ideal candidate for a rebinding, so Jeremie had the bonded leather cover stripped off in favor of Chocolate Katsina goatskin. Let's take a look at the results!

Jeremie writes: I'm a long time reader (but lurker!) of your blog. I wanted to share a rebind experience with you.

I'm a big fan of the TNIV but haven't found a good edition (I'm not alone in this). But the new single-column, cross-reference edition is great. It's not as compact as I'd like, but that isn't a show-stopper.

My plan all along when purchasing this edition of the TNIV was to have it rebound. With a lot of research and help (Matt Morales!) I mailed off my TNIV to Mechling Book Bindery for a nice new paint job.

Here's what I asked of Mechling:

1. Deluxe Package (includes goatskin, leather lined cover, raised bands). The deluxe package also comes with two ribbons. I asked for three and upon seeing the bill, I noticed he didn't charge me for the 3rd ribbon! Great guy, that Al Mechling...gotta love him.

2. I requested a brown leather goatskin. But instead of the standard goatskin, I also asked to upgrade the leather. Al advised that I should get a Chocolate Katsina goatskin. You can view the leathers here.

3. The original bible had a silver gilt to it. Silver + Brown = Not so good. Sooo I asked him to trim it off. I would have LOVED for Mechling to re-gilt it, but it was not an option.

4. I also asked for "TNIV" and "Mechling Bookbindery" on the side.

So, the final product can be seen in some photos below. The worst thing about the rebind is the lack of gilt and being able to see where the blade trimmed the page edges. You'll see the striations in some of the photos. I really tried to capture it in the pics.

Overall, I love the Bible, it is very flexible and very durable. I've handled a Mechling rebind with the standard goatskin, and I have to say this Katsina upgrade was the best choice I made. The photos do not do it justice. I'd recommend the leather to anyone.

And now the photos:

Spanish New Testament: "La Biblia de las Americas", Rebound by Abba Bibles

Cristian Franco has had a number of Bibles rebound by Abba Bibles in México. The latest project we'll showcase is a New Testament originally published in the 1970s. Cristian rescued two copies from Amazon.com and sent one for transformation. Here are the results.

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 New Testament "La Biblia de las Americas"

I ordered the rebinding of this New Testament when my wife and I were living in Mexico. (I serve the Lord in the Luis Palau Team, and now live here in Argentina). The text is "La Biblia de las Américas", a very special and literal translation made by Lockman Foundation (creators of the NASB translation). I found two copies of this edition (printed in the 70's) at Amazon and I bought them. Then, I sent one of them to Abba Bibles to be rebound. And I ordered it in blue, my favourite color!

This edition is bound in blue calfskin with leather linings, gold page edges, and one ribbon marker. My name is embossed on the cover.

-- Cristian Franco

Above: The blueness of the leather comes through loud and clear in these photos. I'm quite fond of the contrasting stitch around the edge.

Spanish Bible: Reina Valera 1995, United Bible Societies, Bound by Abba Bibles

We continue with our look at Cristian Franco's magnificent rebinding projects, all from Abba Bibles in México. Last time, the project was an RVR 1995 specially commissioned by the Sociedad Bíblica Argentina to celebrate its 175th anniversary. This time, the edition in question is an RVR 1995 printed by the United Bible Societies.

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 Reina Valera 1995 -- United Bible Societies

This Bible was published by the United Bible Societies, and uses the Reina Valera 1995 revision. (The Reina Valera is the most popular Bible in the Spanish speaking world, equivalent to the King James Version -- and I think it was translated into Spanish at the same in history time that the KJV was made).

I have four copies of this Bible. One in blue, two in black, and one in tan (that I gave to my wife as a gift). The one pictured here is Smyth-sewn and bound in blue calfskin with leather linings, red under gold page edges, one ribbon marker.

-- Cristian Franco

Above: This photo gives a good idea of the Bible's size.

Spanish Bible: Reina Valera 1995, Sociedad Bíblica Argentina Special Edition, Bound by Abba Bibles

Remember when the question of Spanish-language Bibles came up back in January? Today begins a series of posts highlighting some amazing editions of the Bible in Spanish, all from our friend Cristian Franco in Buenos, Aires. Each of these Bibles was magnificently bound by Abba Bibles in Mexico. I have a feeling they're going to be a new favorite around here.

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 Reina Valera 1995 -- Argentina Bible Society Special Edition

This Bible was made specially for the 175th Anniversary of the Sociedad Bíblica Argentina -- the Argentina Bible Society in English. They commissioned Abba Bibles in México to made only 175 copies of this edition, which sold for US $175 each (at the time when the Argentine peso was equal to US $1). So I bought copy #106, as you can see in one of the pictures below.

This edition is bound in calfskin with leather linings, red under gold page edges, and two ribbon markers. The binding is Smyth-sewn. Please, note the words "Hand Made Bible" imprinted in the leather.

The people at Argentina Bible Society office told me that the Argentine goverment bought two copies of this Bible as a gift for Princess Maxima of the Netherlands. (She is from Argentina, and married into the Dutch royal family.)

-- Cristian Franco

Above: The grain is beautiful, isn't it?

Mechling Rebinds a Personal Size Reference ESV

It must be rebinding week here at the BibleDesignBlog.com, because I'm receiving lots of great photos to share. Get ready to salivate, friends. Let's begin with a new project done by Mechling Bookbindery. Regular reader Brian Fox sent them his new Personal Size Reference ESV for treatment -- the genuine leather edition, which has a sewn binding. Here are the results, in Brian's own words:

I sent a genuine leather ESV Personal Size Reference Bible to Mechling, and I am pleased to share it with you. I chose chocolate goatskin, with the raised bands, translation name (once rather than thrice), and two deluxe ribbons. In many ways, it is similar to Kyle Hedrick's scarlet RSV. If I could change one thing, the top and bottom of the spine would have the nice bulges that Alan Cornett's NASB NT has.

The Mechling rebind is 1/4" taller than the TruTone edition. It also feels more substantial.

While it is not as nice as my Allan's ESV, the chocolate goatskin feels very luxurious in my hands. There is a world of difference compared to the veneer of leather over cardboard that originally came with this Bible.

NASB NT Rebound by McSpadden Book Bindery

Back in October of 2006, I received an e-mail from Alan Cornett asking for advice on having a NASB New Testament rebound. The text block was separating from the cover, but the pages still adhered the binding. I mentioned Mechling as a possiblity, and also threw out McSpadden Bookbindery in Oklahoma. I hadn't used them, but I was intrigued by the videos they'd posted of the rebinding process. Alan went ahead and sent the NT to them, and has been using it for the past eighteen months or so. Recently he sent me photos of the work along with his thoughts on the process and results. Let's take a look.

Above: The problem. The text block is separating from the cover.
Below: The solution. A caramel calfskin cover from McSpadden Book Bindery.

TNIV XL Rebound by LeatherBibles.com

When I reviewed the Allan's TNIV, I pointed out that readers of that translation have a hard time finding quality editions. There's the edition from Allan's, a couple from Cambridge (which are not available in North America due to market restrictions), and now the TNIV Reference Bible, which in spite of having a bonded leather cover does feature a Smyth-sewn binding. Jay Davis, a Salvation Army captain who reads this blog, decided to take matters into his own hands. He sent his XL edition of the TNIV to LeatherBibles.com to have it rebound. These photos reveal the result.

Above: The TNIV XL in a two-tone calfskin cover by LeatherBibles.com.

I was impressed when I saw that cover. If you recall, Scott Kay had his Greek NT rebound by LeatherBibles.com, and the results were impressive. The same thing applies here. Take a look at the grain on that cover. The two-tone look wouldn't appeal to me ordinarily, but here it's executed in a very attractive way. Jay reports that it's very flexible and supple.

Above: The cover is quite limp.

Of course, one of the challenges when you rebind a Bible is that no matter how good the cover is, you can't change the insides. In this case, the TNIV XL has a glued binding. I wouldn't ordinarily recommend having a glued edition rebound -- but I did it with my ESV Thinline because at the time there was no choice. Jay's dilemma was similar. He liked the format of the XL, and it was only available with an adhesive binding.

He posted a review of the XL at Amazon that emphasizes both the pros and cons:

"The binding is glued, not sewn. This edition is "larger print," only slightly larger than the standard edition. The print formatting is great, the print is maybe 10.5 pica. The word and sentence spacing is very good.

"My biggest complaint with Zondervan and other Bibles is the marginal paper quality. Being a Thinline edition, paper quality is bleed-through and shadowing. In this edition you will find shadowing, which may detract from the enjoyment of reading. I personally like the font size and two columns. For me at age 51 it is what I like. It seems ridiculously hard to find good Bible with good paper."

Above: Inside the XL.
Below: The spine.

Thanks for sharing the results of your rebinding project, Jay!

A 50th Anniversary RSV Rebound by Mechling

Kyle Hedrick decided to have his Oxford 50th Anniversary edition of the RSV rebound by Mechling in scarlet goatskin. Knowing my passion for all things red, he decided to snap some pictures and share. Here's what the new RSV looks like:

And here's a better look at the spine:

A Greek NT Rebound by Mechling

Dave Doyle recently sent his Reader's Edition of the Greek New Testament to Mechling for rebinding, and he was kind enough to write about the experience and share some photos. Let's take a look:

Dave writes:

"When the Reader’s Edition of the UBS Greek New Testament was announced I knew that I wanted a copy. My Greek has gotten rusty since Seminary despite all my efforts to keep it healthy and happy. At least this way I could struggle myself through a passage, so I pre-ordered it from Amazon and waited.

"When it arrived I was pleased with everything but the cover as it was the standard UBS burgundy cardboard. But I knew that I didn’t have to settle for that cardboard cover as I’ve been ruined by Mark Bertrand. I knew about rebinding! I searched the web for options, read the blogs and settled on Mechling as they had all the options I wanted."

Sawyer Rebind Revisited

Back in December, Matt Morales shared the results of one of his rebinding projects with us -- a wide-margin ESV cut down and rebound by Paul Sawyer. Not long ago, Matt sent me the Bible and asked for a second opinion. I snapped these photos and would like to share them along with some observations that might help others looking to undertake a similar project. (You can click on each image to see a larger version at Flickr.)

The photo above illustrates the best and worst of this rebinding project all at once. The best? That magnificent Nigerian goatskin cover, with its beautiful deep brown finish and attractive grain. The worst? The stiffness of the binding, which is exacerbated by the cover's thickness. Instead of wrapping around the text block like a shell -- one of the trademarks of semi- and full-yapp cover edges, this one projects stiffly at a roughly 45 degree angle, no matter which side is uppermost.

Another Paul Sawyer Rebinding Project

Back in December, I featured a rebinding project by Paul Sawyer, an ESV wide margin Matt Morales sent him. That inspired Michael Swoveland, another reader of the blog, to send his new Ryrie Study Bible to Paul Sawyer for the magic treatment. Now Michael has been kind enough to share the results with us all. Here are the photos and Michael's description of the entire process:

Greek NT in Tan Calfskin by LeatherBibles.com

When my friend Scott Kay shared his stack of Bibles with us, I couldn't help noticing the Greek NT he'd had rebound by LeatherBibles.com. Since I receive a fair amount of questions about that site, and don't have much first-hand experience, I asked Scott to share some photos and tell us about the rebinding process. Here's his report:

As a student of Scripture, one of my great loves is the Greek New Testament. There’s nothing quite like digging into the depths of a passage in the original language and mining out the riches for yourself. Secondary sources like commentaries are invaluable as a resource, but they are still only secondary sources. In fact, I would be quick to say that the single greatest benefit seminary afforded me was the opportunity to learn Greek so I could study the text for myself. Nothing has proven more beneficial in my own grasp of Scripture.

Another ESV Wide Margin Rebound by Mechling Bookbindery

Remember the ESV wide margin Matt Morales cut to size and rebound? Well, he's done it again, this time using Mechling Bookbindery to do the work. Here's his report on the results:

The last wide margin rebind with Paul Sawyer was intended as a gift for someone and also as a way for me to try out Paul Sawyer's style of binding. While I liked the quality of the leather, the experimental aspects (colored page edges, etc) turned out unorthodox and eventually unsatisfying -- my own fault. The bigger problem was that I placed the Bible on the counter and unknown to me there was some spilled nail polish remover -- dont ask why! -- which went to work destroying the cover's color. Overall the rebind looked great and limpness seemed very good. Yet after playing around opening different sections of the Bible, I noticed a stiffness in the spine that does not want to go away. It keeps the Bible from opening up and laying flat in books like Genesis and Exodus...something that the Mechling rebind fixed right from the start.

One Year Later: Two Bibles Rebound by Mechling

The Bible Design and Binding Blog has featured a lot of rebinding work recently -- and there's more on the way. Maybe you're wondering how some of these editions hold up over time. After all, even the saddest genuine leather editions can look spiffy out of the box. It's when they're actually used that the faults begin to show. Matt Morales sent me some photos about a couple of Bibles he had rebound a year ago by Mechling, along with a write-up, and I'm passing them along because they illustrate the point that many people still miss about quality bindings. What matters isn't how they look today, but how they perform over time. Here's Matt --

Two years ago I sent an ESV Classic Reference edition and a 25-year-old NASB reference edition to Mechling to be rebound. The black ESV was my wife's, which after only a year of use had begun to fall apart. The 25-year-old burgundy NASB was a gift from my mother.

Both Bibles were rebound with the deluxe binding package with no frills attached, and both were done in the original color that they came with. The turnaround was two weeks and the Bibles arrived in great condition. Of note: I did have both Bibles re-sewn by Mechling to add strength.

One year later, both Bibles have grown considerably more flexible (notice the black ESV) and feel great -- with no signs of falling apart. The goatskin cover and sheepskin lining are both very supple. My only complaint is that the ribbons fray to easily ... which is why I sent stronger ones when rebinding the wide margin.

The cost was $159 a piece. All in all, it was money well spent.

Thanks, Matt, for sharing these. I'm impressed with the flexibility of the black ESV -- that bent-over-backward snapshot is positively yoga-like. You make an excellent point, too, about the way good bindings tend to improve with use (while bad ones just fall apart)!

Carl Hayman's "Scarlet Goat" Project

Carl Hayman has mentioned his "Scarlet Goat" project a number of times in the comments section, so I asked if he'd snap some photos and share a write-up of the overall experience. He chose Mechling to do the work, so this should be of interest to anyone contemplating a similar undertaking. I'll turn it over to Carl, then pop back at the end with a remark or two:

The Scarlet Goat

This Bible “reborn” comes courtesy of Mechling’s Deluxe Rebinding package. The Bible began life as an Oxford KJV large print, but after only about five years of relatively easy use, it was having signature issues in the first and last signatures.

A Rebound ESV by Paul Sawyer

Rebinding is a hot topic in our little community, so I've asked a number of readers to share the results they've had. First up is Matt Morales, who recently had an ESV Wide Margin re-sized and bound in brown goatskin by Paul Sawyer. I haven't seen this one in person, but based on the photographs Matt sent for this feature, it appears to be superb.

Matt specified a cover in brown Russel's Nigerian goatskin, a hand-finished product with a natural soft grain similar to that found on R. L. Allan's editions. The cover is lined in burgundy silk, and the page edges have been colored a light brown with a "gloss" on top, which Matt says turned out quite nice. Matt sourced the ribbon himself and provided it to Paul Sawyer (and he's generously offered to help other readers with ribbon, as well). As you can see from the photos, the spine has raised bands and antique gold imprinting.

The original wide-margin was resized slightly from 6x9 to 5.5x8.5, leaving a one inch margin. This removed the factory gilt edges, and also brought the size in line with an Allan's ESV. Matt measured the thickness at 1.3 inches, too. "In all I was looking for a wide margin with the feel of a hand size Allans," Matt says, "and it is pretty close."