BIBLE REVIEW #3 Trinitarian Bible Society Concord Reference Bible KJV

THE CONCORD REFERENCE BIBLE KJV

Published by: The Trinitarian Bible Society, London, England

ISBN 0-907861-68-7

This Bible is bound in black Calfskin Leather and measures 8.75 x 6 and is 1.25 inches thick.

Of all the Bibles I own this is my favorite "out of the box" Bible. It is bound in a very soft, almost limp, calfskin leather that has a very unusual deep textured grain to it. This Bible pleases more of the senses than most Bibles. Sight and touch are obvious, but this is a Bible that also smells amazing.

The calfskin is a glossy black, for whatever reason glossy leather is no longer popular with Bible publishers. I happen to like glossy leather, but that is not the only feature of this Bible that harkens back to a bygone age. It has two ribbon markers, a double sewn binding and even art gilt page edges. All of these things are considered luxury today, but in ages past they were standard. While this edition exudes quality in every detail, there is nothing ostentatious about it, it is understated but elegant in it's simplicity.

It was printed and bound entirely in Great Britain. Sadly this is no longer the case with even the luxury Bible producers anymore. Cambridge Bibles are printed in Belarus and even most R. L. Allan & Sons Bibles bound in Glasgow, but were first printed in China.



The textblock is exactly the same as the Cambridge Concord Reference Bible, in fact it was printed by Cambridge University Press for the Trinitarian Bible Society. The type and layout is traditional, perhaps even slightly old fashioned, but to my eye pleasant and quite readable. This Bible has the words of Christ in black (which I consider a plus).



The photo below will serve to illustrate the traditional layout and also show the art gilt edging. Art gilt edging is where the page edges are dyed red and then covered with gold, when your Bible is closed you see the gold as you would with any standard Bible, but when it is open the page edges are red. Art gilt edging is seldom seen even on British Bibles these days and never on American Bibles.



You might be wondering: Why not just buy a Cambridge Concord? I have both in black calfskin, my Cambridge was purchased in about 2005 (one of the last Cambridge Bible made in Britain). The quality of leather on the Trinitarian Bible Society edition is much nicer than the leather on the Cambridge edition. The paper quality also seems better, it is whiter and smoother than the Cambridge. Price is also a consideration, I paid $130.00 for the Cambridge in 2005 and $94.99 for this one last week. I always like getting more Bible for less money!



PLEASE BE AWARE: Judging from the style of box I believe this Bible was printed at least 10 years ago. After looking at the photos of the calfskin Concord on the Trinitarian Bible Society website I am not sure if they are still using this grade of leather, but it does not look like it. If you are thinking about ordering this Bible from them you might want to call or e-mail to be sure.

 

Below is a view of the front cover. This kind of leather is hard to photograph and I am not a very good photographer.



This Bible contains "The Epistle Dedicatory" and "The Translators to the Reader." In addition it has a glossary of archaic words and a very useful concordance.



One area where the Cambridge Concord outshines the Trinitarian Concord is the maps. The Cambridge uses the full set of 16 Moody Press maps, while the Trinitarian edition uses the old Cambridge set of 8 maps. The maps in this edition do not show a lot of detail or list very many locations.