Preview: Cambridge NRSV Reference Bible w/Apocrypha 2018

Just a couple days ago I was delighted to receive from Cambridge Press two of their newest editions of the NRSV Reference Bible w/Apocrypha.  I know a number of you own a copy of the previous edition(s) of this bible, and I include myself in this.  In many ways, that edition was the standard for those who desired a Catholic bible (or at least one with full apocrypha) that was premium-made and contained cross-references, quality maps, and other study materials.  I am pleased to say that Cambridge has made a very good reference bible even better with their newest releases.  Available in a variety of covers, including goatskin, I am convinced that the Cambridge NRSV Reference Bible w/Apocrypha is the best premium bible, that a Catholic can use, on the market today.  Nothing is even remotely close to it.  Really. Over the next month or so, I am going to devote a series of posts looking at the goatskin edition that I have, as well has the hardcover one.  These new editions are due to be published on February 8th.

To tease you a bit, here are a few photos to whet your appetite:

Jeff's Rebind Project: Combined Didache and Compendium

Jeff is a regular commentor here on the blog.  He recently commissioned a truly unique rebind, which brought together The Didache Bible and The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Yep!  He put them together and bound them into one book.  Here are the details:

While reading the Catholic Bibles Blog I began to notice a nice trend of readers sharing their bibles rebound in genuine leather and cowhide. I decided it was something I wanted to do, but I reasoned, if they can rebind a bible, could they maybe combine the bible with another book? I called the two companies most frequently mentioned on the website, Leonard’s and AA Leather. They both said they could in fact combine two books, as long as the books were the same size.

One afternoon I was reading the Compendium and I noticed something interesting. I had my bible out when I realized how close they were in size. I grabbed my tape measure out and sure enough, they were both 6”x9”!

“Eureka!” I said, (or at least would have if I were this was a movie). I would combine the Didache Bible, with the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church! These are the two books I carry around with me all the time anyway when I study my bible, it makes sense to place them under the same roof!

I boxed them up  and off they went to sunny South Florida at the headquarters of AA Leather. I patiently waited each day by my mailbox. After only two short weeks, the mailman knocked on my door and handed my a big package!

I chose forest green as the color with leather cowhide. And couldn’t be more happy with the work Andrew and the whole gang at AA Leather did for my bible. I love it so much, I want to just place it on my shelf and not touch it! We all know that’s not going to happen!

If you would like to see more, head on over the Jeff's site here.

OUP's NRSV w/ Apocrypha (Genuine Leather)

Premium Bibles that a Catholic can utilize remain an endangered species, as you know.  So, from time to time, I like to point out an edition that some of you might enjoy purchasing.  Today, I want to show you an early (mid-90's) edition Oxford University Press NRSV w/ Apocrypha in black genuine leather.  Over at discountbible.com, it is currently available in both black and burgundy genuine leather for only $49.95.

This is a very nice reading Bible, which also has a lovely feel and look to it.  The text is the standard NRSV, not the anglicised edition.  The page-layout is very clean, without any paragraph headings.  For a reading Bible like this, I think that is a good thing.  There is, however, at the bottom of each page a short few words indicating the main event or message of that page.  While the genuine leather is not exceptional, it is truly genuine leather and actually feels like it.  The binding is sewn, which will provide a lifetime of reading, as well as making it a good candidate for having it rebound in a more premium leather if so desired.  Some other highlights of this Bible are the two ribbon markers and gold edges, along with full-color Oxford Maps and generous ninety-six page concise concordance.

As usual, my only complaint with most NRSV editions is the complete lack of cross-references.  This continues here and remains to be a major issue which plagues the NRSV.  Someone will surely correct this at some point right?  Maybe even in a Catholic edition?  (Yes, I am aware of the Cambridge NRSV Reference Bible w/Apocrypha.)

A few weeks back a friend gifted me this same Bible, but in an early edition.  That early edition, which dated to the time of the NRSV's first publication, is almost identical, minus the inclusion of the concise concordance.  So, if this is a Bible you might like, I'd recommend you pick one up soon.  It makes not only a fine reading Bible, but also a gift for Christmas.  It also comes in a really nice box!

A Re-Opening: New Oxford Annotated Bible 4th Edition (Genuine Leather)

Back in August, south-east Michigan was hit with some terrible flooding.  My town received over 5 inches of rain in a short period.  Needless to say, our basement flooded with two feet of sewage.  It was not a pleasant smell.  Among the many things that were ruined or lost were a decent number of Bibles and other biblical works.  I am not going to be getting most of these things back, some of them are out of print while others are too expensive.  I did, however, re-order one Bible since I loved the overall package.  So, here, is my re-opening of the New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha (4th Edition) in black genuine leather.

Knox Rebound: Goodbye to My Knox Bible

Surely it won't be gone forever, but rather just for a short trip to Leonard's Book Restoration for a bit of a makeover.  For a long time I have been looking for an everyday reading Bible that would meet a number of my personal preferences.  As we all know, for just as there is no perfect translation out there, neither is there a perfect Bible edition.  However, the Knox Bible, published by Baronius Press, comes really close.  The hardbound leather cover is really nice, but possibility to have this Bible bound in premium leather is just too great!

In the end, there are three main reasons why I am having my Knox Bible rebound.  First, I really enjoy reading from the single-column page format, including the absence of paragraph headings found in most Bibles.  As mentioned on the Baronius Press website, the Knox Bible is "set in a single-column format with verse references placed at the side of the text in order to provide a clear and easily readable Bible."  I can't think of any other Bible that I own that I have enjoyed actually reading large portions of Scripture from more than this edition of the Knox Bible.

Secondly, the notes and cross-references provided by Msgr. Knox are helpful, well-placed, and not overbearing.  They provide just enough information, relating both to textual and theological issues, thus making them simply an aid, not a distraction, from reading the Sacred Text.  There are also cross-references which, as you know, are necessary for any Bible I am going to use daily.

Finally, a note about the translation itself.  I mentioned a few posts ago that the Big Three (NAB, RSV, and NRSV) are more similar than different.  I still stand by that statement.  Clearly the Knox Bible is more dynamic than literal, but I have increasingly become more comfortable with it for everyday reading.  I have enjoyed many of his fresh renderings, which depart from the standard construction found in the Big Three.  The biggest issue is the archaic English that pops up from time to time, however, I haven't been as distracted by it as I might have thought.  The New Testament reads really well and some of Knox's renderings I have used in the CBSM classes that I teach. I sort of understand now why there is an attraction to translations like the (New) Jerusalem Bible or New Living Translation.

So, what am I having done with my Knox Bible?  Well, I am going to have it bound in soft-tanned flexible goatskin.  The color of the leather will be a dark brown.  I am going to have three places where there will be blind imprinting: On the spine there will be "Holy Bible" and "Knox Version", while on the bottom right of the cover will be placed my full name.  In addition, I will have three brown ribbons added while the original (red and yellow) ones will be removed.

As the project moves forward, I will continue to blog about my experiences with Leonard's.  I look forward to sharing with you the finished product in the coming weeks.

I would like to thank Margie at Leonard's for putting up with a flurry of emails from me over the past week, as well as Corey, our Catholic Bibles Blog rebinding expert, for consulting with me on this project.  I also would like to really thank my wife for allowing me to do this as well!  :)

A Rebound Catechism

Our friend Corey recently had his full sized edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church rebound.  In many ways, Corey is becoming the rebinding expert of the Catholic world.  You can read all about it at Matt's blog.  He had the Catechism rebound by our friends at Leonard's in their 18th Century Revivalist Style (Softcover Version).  

I think it may be about time to have one of my Bibles rebound.  I will announce which one in the coming days, but until then, what do you think about the new historical style offerings from Leonard's?  I hope to blog about my experiences with Leonard's over the coming weeks as this new rebinding project proceeds.   Can anyone guess which Bible I plan to have rebound?

Rebound RSV-2CE (Leonard's)

Thanks to Corey for the following guest post:

My Christmas present this year was a Leonard's Book Restoration rebind of my "daily" Ignatius RSV-2CE hardback (Ignatius RSV-2CE).  If you remember, my "test run" of Leonard's work was a rebind of my RSV-2CE Ignatius pocket NT-Psalms, which came out very nice (NT-Psalms rebind).  I have since enlisted the aid of Leonard's to do a number of rebinds of that pocket NT-Psalms as nicer Christmas presents for people very close to me.  They have been VERY well received.

But it simply did not make much sense for me to not get my full size RSV-2CE rebound.  Because my full size RSV is my daily "read and underline/highlight" bible, I wanted that daily bible to be upgraded.  I chose Leonard's "Circuit Rider" style from their "Historical Series"  (Leonard's "Circuit Rider").  I loved the look and history of the style.  True, it is technically a "Protestant" bible style, but I like to believe that rebinding a "Catholic" Bible in a "Protestant" historical binding is at the height of bible ecumenism and evangelism ;) !

I am extremely pleased with the product.  Leonard's puts these historical styles through a "process" (as Margie says) that gives the final product an antiqued look without damaging the leather at all.  The bible came to me feeling well "loved", yet perfectly taken care of.  The craftsmanship is top notch.  It is a perfect paring of a good Catholic translation used by the Catechism and a wonderful binding.

This style is clearly designed to travel well, per Leonard's site:  "This style is made of thick glossy chocolate soft-tanned goatskin as a stiff flex-cover and still includes raised ribs and “Holy Bible” in the Wedding Text font on the spine, and an old-fashioned wraparound tab closure.  It’s great for backpacks and suitcases, saddle bags and satchels, making a neat package without ribbons."  Leonard's does not demand that you use the "marbled" end pages.  But they are historically accurate (per Leonard's).  You can substitute their nice "hand milled" paper end pages if you prefer (or probably others).  Also you can use ribbons, but those are not historically accurate (again, per Leonard's) because of their propensity of getting caught, pulled and/or soiled with heavy travel.

The style opens well and the tab does not get in the way of reading/working in the Bible.  I could go on and on. I highly recommend this style and I'm sure the other historical styles are of equal quality.  This style probably runs you about $50 or so more than doing one of the Leonard's more typical rebinds. I can't recommend Leonard's enough.  

Peace of Christ to you all.  ~ Corey

Your Allan's Catholic Bible

R. L. Allan, of the UK, is known for producing quality high-end Bibles.  As stated on their website: "Since 1863 we have been producing and selling our own exclusive Allan range of high quality, hand-finished Bibles which are both beautiful and durable. They are probably the finest leather-bound Bibles you can buy."  Indeed, from the reviews I have seen, their Bibles seem to be produced with the utmost care and quality.  However, for those seeking a truly Catholic edition, with all 73 canonical books incorporated, Allan has yet to produce one.  All of their Bibles are Protestant editions, with the closest one a Catholic might get would be the beautiful NRSV in Brown Highland Goatskin.  Of course, this edition does not include the Deuterocanonicals.

So, what is a Catholic to do? Complain of course!  No, not really.  In truth, most have simply found their favorite Bible edition and simply had it rebound by the fine people at Leonards Book Restoration Station.  I have done this and so have quite a few others who have done guest posts on this blog.  But, wouldn't it be nice to be able to purchase a premium edition Catholic Bible?  The closest to this, I maintain, is the NRSV Reference Bible with Apocrypha from Cambridge.  Yet, again, it isn't truly a Catholic edition. 

So, let's just suppose that Allan's decided to produce a high-end Bible in a Catholic edition.  What would be your dream Allan's Catholic Bible edition?  When answering that question, consider the following questions: 1) Which current translation would you like to see utilized?  (Please stick to a translation that is already published, not one like the proposed ESV-CE which no one is sure will ever actually be published.)  2) What kind of page layout would you like?  3) What, besides the text itself, would you like to see included? 4) What kind of cover?

My choices:
1) NRSV or NABRE (not sure which one to be honest) 
2) Two-columns, center references
3) Nice selection of maps (Cambridge NRSV Reference Edition), concordance, Sunday Mass Readings, and three Bible ribbons
4) Brown Highland Goatskin

Leonard's Rebound RSV-2CE NT and Psalms (full review)

Tim, thanks for asking me to do a write up on my recent Ignatius RSV-2CE compact, bonded leather, NT & Psalms.  After becoming a big fan of your blog, and Matt’s “Absolutely No Spin “ blog, I became familiar with what you and Matt have done with having Bibles, Breviaries, etc. rebound in high-end leather.  Your site put me on to Leonard’s Bible Restoration.  They are wonderful people.  It is truly a “mom and pop” shop that does top notch work.

Review of the Ignatius RSV-2CE compact

My “trial run” was going to be an extra copy I have of the Ignatius RSV-2CE compact, bonded leather, NT & Psalms.  Why?  I had an extra, “new” copy and my other “well-loved” copy is my working/apologetics-pocket-Bible (well - NT/Psalms) copy.  That copy well-loved copy was just too marked up to justify an expensive leather rebind (IMO – some would disagree I’m sure).  Another reason I chose this Bible is the cost/quality ratio.  I think this Bible is one of the best deals.  You can pick it up, usually, for under $20.  For being a “compact” Bible, the type is a typical size bible type size (10 pt?).  It is very easy on the eyes.  The paper is very good as well.  No “ghosting” at all.  Most ball-point ink note taking doesn’t show through too much.  And I think the gilt edges are well done considering the price.

The drawback is that the cover is bonded leather.  With that said, I do think the Ignatius bonded leather is very nice bonded leather.  But it can only be so good and will always be a far cry from genuine.  And it will simply not hold up long term to high usage.   So that made the decision easy for choosing this particular Bible version to have rebound.

But mostly, I wanted a Bible with nothing extra on each page to distract me from Christ’s WORD.  I LOVE Bibles.  I love study Bibles, but they are definitely too distracting for me for devotional reading.  Even traditional (non-study) Bibles have minor notes and cross references that send me into “research mode” while I am trying to just do devotional reading.  THIS NT/Psalms has all the RSV notes as end-notes at the end of the Bible (which I dislike when I’m studying).  So they are not there for distraction.  Only the very very rare, critical, note has made it onto the page.  There aren’t even any introductory notes to each Gospel/Epistle.  Thank you, Ignatius Press.  This Bible is refreshing for those of us that need to GET AWAY from a scholarly approach to the WORD.

My experience rebinding with Leonard’s

I can’t say enough for how nice and responsive Margie and the gang are at Leonard’s.   They do it all by email.   Margie helped me choose the Chocolate "Soft-tanned Goatskin" with spine ribbing added.  I had seen a photo on the Leonard’s site I thought was perfect.  And, for my first experience with Leonard’s, I wanted to go with something I could see. 

I really like the “blind stamping” of HOLY BIBLE on the spine and my name on the front cover.  Leaving the gold out give it a more natural look to me.  And there is no gold to flake off over time.   I also went with the same 3 color ribbons.  One for the Gospel I’m in, one for Epistles, and one for the Psalms.  Seemed like a lot of ribbons for only NT/Psalms, but aren’t we in three sections every day in Mass?  One of the best spiritual direction advices I’ve received is “Stay close to the Gospel.”  To me, that means (1) read the Gospel every day and (2) if you can, actually keep the Gospel close to your body…hence, the RSV compact which can easily fit in my back pocket!

I have sent Tim some pictures I took with my other copy of the RSV Compact for comparison (hope they help).

Cost:  Getting anything rebound in really nice leather is expensive.  As I commented on a post earlier, the cost for this rebind was $89.50 before the extras. Blind stamping ($10), 3 ribbons ($20 and shipping ($10), came to $111.50.  Not inexpensive, but if these Bibles are the most precious “items” in our lives (as they are, whether we realize it or not), we should not flinch at spending the price of a somewhat-expensive sporting event ticket on them.  If we compare the rebinding price to the price of a nice pair of work shoes, or sports-jacket, or a really nice dinner, or our overly addicting “smartphones”, we should have no problem spending the money.  It’s God’s WORD, the one thing that binds us all.  Not the shoes, the iphone, nor the sports ticket.  (Sorry, I wasn’t asked to sermonize)

Some friends and I are having a full size Bible rebound by Leonard’s in black soft-tanned goatskin for our Pastor.  And my family just sent off our grandmother’s Bible to Leonard’s.  So I’m THAT impressed.  I will share pictures.

Pax Christi,

Corey

Thank you to Corey for this wonderful review!

Leonard's Rebound RSV-2CE NT and Psalms

Reader Corey recently had his Ignatius RSV-2CE Compact New Testament and Psalms rebound by Leonard's Book Restoration Station.  He has provided some of the specs regarding the restoration and will provide some additional commentary in the future.



Specs:

• recover of the Ignatius RSV-CE "NT/Psalms".  Originally blue bonded leather (which, of bonded leather bibles, I think Ignatius' is the best.)
• recovered by Leonard's Book Restoration
• Chocolate "Soft-tanned Goatskin"
• Blind stamping of name and "Holy Bible" on spin.
• They added the spin ribbing and replaced the original 2 red ribbons with the 3 different colors.

Guest Post: HarperOne NABRE Rebound

Thank you to reader Colleague for submitting this review:

My newly bound NABRE

For my latest rebinding project, I took the HarperOne New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) hardcover and had it transformed it into a genuine leather softcover.  While Oxford University Press has produced some acceptable genuine leather NABREs, there honestly isn’t a NABRE currently on the market that beats the text presentation of the HarperOne – I mean, you’ve gotta love the classy red-and-black text, not to mention the fresh organization of the footnotes and references! – and I think that such a superb layout deserves a fancy set of “clothes.”  Some of you may remember the article entitled Healing Catholic “Bible Envy” written this past May by Mickey Maudlin, Senior Vice President, Executive Editor and Director of Bible Publishing at HarperCollins.  In that piece, while discussing the merits of the NABRE translation, Mr. Maudlin lauded that the (then) to-be-released NABRE in black imitation leather was “stunning and should assuage any Catholic still suffering from Bible envy.”  To our misfortune, he was wrong.  What we received was a poorly packaged NABRE thinly disguised as a NRSV Catholic Gift Bible.  Obviously there is plenty of room for improvement when it comes to HarperOne’s binding and design!  While this rebinding project was clearly meant for my own edification, maybe this post will further signal to the many Directors of Bible Publishing that there is a significant and growing segment of Catholics who desire a higher-quality standard in our Bibles.

The first thing that you notice is that this Bible is very blue!   This is a soft, flexible and supple royal blue pebble genuine top grain cowhide with 3/8” yapp on all sides.  Absolutely stellar!  I chose royal blue for three reasons: first, I’m pretty bored with the same ol’ black and brown Bibles and I thought it would be pretty awesome to own a blue Bible (and it is!); second, my fiancé thought it would be more mannish than a turquoise Bible; third, and most importantly, since the Blessed Virgin is most commonly depicted in blue, I couldn’t think of a better symbolism to hold the Word of God.  Hats off to HarperOne for making the hardcover with sewn binding!  The silver embossing on the spine is complementary and really stands out beautifully, I think. 

On the inside, there was some minor surgery required.  Those of you who own the Harper NABRE already know about the glossy Presentation and other Sacramental pages at the front end of the Bible.  There is even a photograph of Pope Benedict XVI.  Even as a practicing Catholic, I find these pages to be largely a waste of space in my Bibles – not to mention unappealing – so I had them excised.  In their stead, I added four blank note pages to the back of the text block for general note-taking – which is more than sufficient for my needs.  Three 3/8” red ribbon markers were added.  I had originally opted for silver ribbon markers to (again) complement the blue, but then I realized that the white pages would make the silver seem sort of bland.  I was reluctant to go with the red ribbons since the red, white and blue might make this seem too much like a patriot’s Bible – especially considering that this is the New AMERICAN Bible (oy vey!) – but then I realized that the red(, white) and blue really do complement each other exceptionally well. 

You’ve got to admit that this Bible really grabs your attention!  Many thanks to Eric and Margie Haley over at Leonard’s Book Restoration for not only the quality craftsmanship which you see here but also their personalized customer service.  It had been about two years since my last rebind, yet my name was immediately recognized when I contacted them – and they were very patient and understanding, especially considering all the last minute changes of mind I had!

My Favorite Bible 2.0

Back in October 2009, I posted on this blog that my favorite Bible edition was Cambridge's NRSV Reference Bible with the Apocrypha--French morocco leather.  Almost three years later, I feel the same way.  While we have certainly seen some improvement in the quality of Catholic Bibles, none match this edition.  Granted, this is technically not a "Catholic" Bible in the sense that it isn't the NRSV Catholic Edition.  However, it does contain all the Deuterocanonicals and the translation, itself, is the exact same as found in the NRSV-CE. 

The original edition I had received back in 2009 was a used copy purchased from Christianbook.com.  It had been returned for some reason, but was in pretty good shape.  The only real issues were that there was a name imprinted on the cover and some of the pages were worn.  It was still in very good condition and it was purchased at a great price.  I had used this NRSV often over the past three years.  In fact, this was the one that I used for many of the major exams I took during the course of my S.T.B. studies, due to all the cross-references.  During the past year, however, as I have been spending a bit more time with the NABRE, my Cambridge NRSV has seen only occasional use.  Recently, I have felt the need to return to this edition, due to its clear text, copious cross-references, useful glossary, fine maps, and quality binding/premium cover. 

When I began to flip through my original edition, I found that it had gotten wet somehow, thus some of the pages weren't in the best condition.  Also, the fact that someone else's name was on the cover always kind of bugged me.  So, I decided to contact my friend Louis, of Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, to see if he could acquire a new copy of Cambridge's NRSV.  (It also helped that I had a gift card to use!)  He was successful, and I received my new edition, with my own name inscribed on the cover, in the mail on Wednesday.  Expecting an identical, albiet new, edition of the Cambridge NRSV, I was suprised to immediately notice a number of differences between the older and new Cambridge NRSV. 

At first touch, the cover felt different.  While my older edition had a rather stiff morroco leather cover, this newer one, though still morroco leather, was more limp.  It had a more smooth feel to it as well, and when I bent the cover it recovered its shape better.  The next thing I did was to get my older edition and place it next to the newer one.  As you can see from the first photo, the bottom one, which is the newer edition, is clearly thinner than the older one.  The other dimensions of this Bible are the exact same and include the same pages of material.  Next, I decided to open up my new Bible to the first few pages.

Taking a look at the copyright, I noticed that my new edition was a 2006 reprint of the 1997 first edition.  I had no idea that my older edition was the first edition, since I didn't know that it had been reprinted.  (It is not like you see this Bible at local secular or religious bookstores typically.)  In addition, I had never seen anyone else carrying this Bible in order to compare mine to it.  Needless to say, the reality of a second printing of this edition was news to me.  As I have been spending some time comparing the two versions since Wednesday, I am very happy to have purchased the reprinted (2006) edition of this Cambridge NRSV.  In my mind, it is clearly a better product overall.

One other difference that I noticed was that the print, although still the same typset, was noticeably darker than the older one.  It is difficult to tell by my second picture earlier in the post, but it is clearly darker in person.  Again, another positive change from the original printing.

All in all, I am very happy with my new edition of the Cambridge NRSV Reference Bible with the Apocrypha--French morocco leather.  The changes to the first edition, though slight, are much appreciated.  This edition remains my favorite Bible and it fits perfectly with my favorite daily prayer book: The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1962 edition). 

(I wonder if anyone finds it strange that I am Catholic who prefers the Ordinary Form (Novus Ordo) Mass, prays the 1962 Little Office daily, and uses the NRSV?) 

Again, thanks to Louis (and Mason) at Baker Book House in Grand Rapids for their wonderful customer service!

Bible Edition Review: HarperOne NABRE Imitation Leather

Back in April, I reviewed the hardcover edition of the HarperOne New American Bible: Revised Edition.  Needless to say, I was impressed with what HarperOne was able to do with the NABRE.  I still contend that the hardcover HarperOne NABRE is the best edition of the NABRE on the market today.  Last week, however, I received the imitation leather edition and found myself to be quite disappointed.  While the content and the page layout is the exact same as the hardcover edition, I was hoping that the binding would be sewn and the cover would be sturdy.  Unfortunately, the imitation leather edition is neither of those two things.  Upon examining this edition, I instantly felt like I had seen something like this before.  Alas, I remembered where!  If any of you own the black imitation leather NRSV Catholic Gift Bible, also by HarperOne, than you know what I am talking about.  While the size and translation of the editions are different, the binding and cover are identical.  In addition, both do not come with a ribbon marker!  The HarperOne NABRE binding is clearly glued and the imitation leather cover doesn't maintain its shape.  I would have much preferred something closer to what is found on the bonded leather, yet sewn NRSV Go-Anywhere editions from HarperOne. 

So, all I can recommend, at this point, is to purchase the hardcover edition, which is sewn, and find yourself a leather Bible cover.  Or perhaps have it rebound in premium leather.

Beautiful Premium Bibles That Will Never Come in a Catholic Edition

J. Mark Bertrand is author of the premier website concerning the issue of Bible design, premium leather covers, and quality binding. Whenever I go to his site, I tend to learn something new about the differences between quality and mass-produced Bible editions. I find the vast majority of his posts fascinating, particular for someone like myself, who loves the feel and smell of older Bibles, as well as some of the newer ones too. Lately, he has been including videos in his reviews, the most recent being the Allan Brevier Clarendon KJV. It is worth checking out, along with his older posts.

Be prepared, however, to be disappointed if you are looking for any premium Catholic Bibles on the site. There are just simply none available, in English, for those of us who are looking for one in a specifically Catholic edition. I am not sure if this will change any time soon? It seems to me that the only possibility would be with the NRSV or NABRE translations.

DIY Bookbinding + Leather Bibles

J. Mark Bertrand's blog Bible Design and Binding is a site I check each week, due to its high quality photos and discussion on the best of the best in Bible design. Recently, he posted on how to do your own bookbinding, which you can read here. If I had any skill at all, I might attempt to do this with a couple of my Bibles, but alas I do not.

One topic that is brought up here on this blog quite frequently is the general lack of premium leather Catholic Bibles. This becomes all the more frustrating when you see how many editions the new NIV2011 comes in. However, with the release of the NABRE, there may be a possibility of a premium leather edition of it in the near future depending on any future publishers. As for the other main Catholic translations, most notably the RSV and NRSV, I wonder what the future holds. Any time I have contacted Ignatius Press, they routinely tell me that they have no plans of releasing the RSV-2CE in any new editions. Well, that is too bad if you ask me. As for the NRSV, HarperOne has indicated additional future releases of the NRSV-CE are likely, but who knows what they will actually do. So, we shall see. Do you have any hopes or desires for premium editions of Catholic Bible translations?

Review: Cambridge RSV New Testament and Psalms

This is sort of a retro mini-review. I was blessed to receive a wonderful little pocket RSV New Testament and Psalms from reader Tim. So, thank you, once again, Tim!

This pocket RSV was published by Cambridge back in 2003, and I must say that it is a delightful little volume. The edition I received is the brown, French Morocco Leather one which has a similar feel to the NRSV Reference Bible with Apocrypha. For Catholics who are looking for a Bible with high quality leather binding, the Cambridge Bibles are often the number one option. What makes this pocket RSV so unique, besides the Moroccan leather binding, is the fact that the text is in a one-column format. This edition is very easy to read and definitely a pleasure for the eyes. An added bonus is that the paper is opaque, much like the NRSV Reference Bible with Apocrypha.

If you can find one, and you are a fan of the RSV, than I highly recommend it. One quick note, this Bible uses the 1971 revised RSV New Testament. Also, the only other pocket RSV that I can compare this to is the Ignatius RSV-2CE New Testament and Psalms. If you are looking for the non-archaic and updated RSV-2CE, than go with Ignatius. If you want a more high-end cover and binding, than the Cambridge edition will delight you! (For some additional photos of this edition, you can check out the listing on Amazon here.)

NOAB 4th Edition Genuine Leather

Last week I decided to order the NOAB 4th Edition in genuine leather. At the time, it was priced at Amazon.com for only $59.00, so I decided to go for it. As I was awaiting it's arrival over the weekend, I started to get a little buyers remorse. Should I have used part of my tax return for another study Bible? The fact is that I really liked what I had saw in the hardcover edition. While some people did not like the new page format and font, I actually found it easier to read. I also found the notes to be succinct, yet helpful and the new map section and essays were informative. My biggest issue, then, became whether or not the genuine leather cover would be quality. I have written often on this blog about the need for premium/quality leather Bibles for Catholics, so I was hoping that this would be the case with the NOAB 4th Edition. I usually don't recommend people purchasing a genuine leather Bible unless recommended by another or unless you are able to see and feel it for yourself. Needless to say, I broke my own rule on this one!

Fortunately, when I opened up my package yesterday from Amazon.com I was very pleased with the quality of the genuine leather. While not being goat or calf skin, it is actually very soft and nimble. It is definitely a step up from the other two genuine leather Oxford study Bibles that I own, those being the NOAB RSV and The Catholic Study Bible NAB (1990) editions. While the durability of any Bible can only be judged over time, my first impressions are that it will be just fine. I plan to use this Bible exclusively this summer, for personal reading, leading Bible study, and any retreats or conferences I attend, so I will let you know how it holds up.

Below are some additional pictures I took with my I-Phone:

I should also point out that this edition comes with two Bible ribbons, tabs, and a simple presentation page at the front of the book.

My New RSV-2CE in Calfskin Leather

So, yes, I decided to take things into my own hands. As many of you know, I have spent quite a few posts on this blog focusing on the lack of truly premium leather Catholic Bibles. I had always figured that at some point, someone would produce a premium leather RSV or NRSV in a specifically Catholic edition. Sure, I tried out a few of the genuine leather editions that are out there, but nothing really captured what I was looking for. I should point out that my desire for a premium leather was enhanced by the wonderful posts by J. Mark Bertrand at his Bible Design and Binding blog. So he is partially to blame! :)

In any case, I decided to commission my own premium leather Catholic Bible in the RSV-2CE. Why the RSV-2CE? Well, there are a couple of considerations that made that the obvious choice. First of all, the Ignatius edition contains cross-references, some minor notes, and maps. And even though the font isn't the most ideal in my mind, it is OK and contains paragraph headings that help to break up the text. Also, the Bible itself isn't too think. In many ways, it is the ideal size. The second reason is that the text book we will be using next year at the high school is keyed to the RSV-CE. This is also aided by the continued release of RSV-CE and 2CE related study tools, like The Catholic Bible Dictionary and The Catholic Bible Concordance.

So, next began the process of finding a book-binder who would handle my commission. Funny enough, the first book-binder who I contacted told me that he would not rebind my Catholic Bible in premium leather because he only would do Protestant Bibles. He basically told me that he would only rebind the Word of God, and the one I wanted to send him wasn't it. Hmm..... Lovely way to start this search.

Next, I contacted Leonard's Book Restoration. They were more than happy to rebind my Ignatius RSV-2CE. I sent them my book along with information as to what I wanted in my rebound RSV-2CE and they accepted it. Ultimately, the bonded leather Ignatius RSV-2CE was transformed into a premium rustic calfskin leather Ignatius RSV-2CE. So far, I am very happy with the end result. The people at Leonard's were very helpful when I placed my order, and it only took five weeks to complete the project, over the Christmas holiday no less.

The cover is very smooth and flexible, which is what I wanted. When I open it on a table, it opens flat without any need to bend the binding. In many ways, it looks and feels like the cover belongs with this Ignatius Bible. They also added my name to the bottom right of the front cover, as well as including an additional Bible ribbon.

Overall, I am very happy with my new Bible, and I will in the future recommend the fine people at Leonard's Book Restoration to anyone who wants a premium leather cover for their Bible.

O Saint Benedict Press RSV-CE, Where Art Thou?

If you are wondering why I haven't blogged a review of the recently released Saint Benedict Press RSV-CE, in black genuine leather, well the reason is I have yet to receive it in the mail. I placed the order back on Friday November 13 with Saint Benedict Press, who said it would ship in 1-2 business days, but still nothing has arrived. As a matter of fact, I even paid extra for 2 day air shipping, in order to expedite the delivery. After multiple emails to customer service which were never answered, I was finally able to get someone from customer service on the phone on three separate occasions to find out the status of my order. And to be honest, I am still not sure what is going on. I have been told that the new RSV's are in stock, but are "in the process" of being shipped. How long does that take?

Oh well, I will try and let you all know what this new RSV-CE is like, once I actually can hold it in my increasingly frustrated hands.

Imitation Leather/ Nu-Tone Bible Covers

One of the main questions I have these days is in regards to the durability of the imitation leather/ nu-tone leatherette Bible covers that seem to be gaining in popularity. Over the past year or so, I have purchased a few of these types of Bibles, but I have yet to really use one of them in everyday use. However, with my new ministry job, I will be using the Catholic Youth Bible from St. Mary's Press, which comes with an imitation leather/nu-tone cover. So, how many of you regularly use a Bible which has an imitation leather/nu-tone cover? Has it held up? Do you like it?