"Bible Bindings" - Leather, Paper, Editions

Here is a page of references to Bible components to help you, when you decide to buy your first, or next Bible. What do all those different names for the Leather bindings mean?. Of course the better quality the Leather, the longer your Bible will last. The better the back binding (smyth sewn is the ultimate) the longer your new Bible will stay together. Glued back bindings will not last very long, if you actually use your Bible.
The better the paper quality, the less bleed through you will see, and the more supple your Bible will be. Also the higher quality paper takes a much sharper, and cleaner print from the press. Quality Leather, quality Backing, and quality Paper, all go together to make a quality Bible. One that the pages will lay flat when opened, and not sneak closed or flip the page, when you turn your back. All of these little things make a Bible that is a joy to read, and use.

Of course I understand we all have our budget, when making decisions on any purchase. But I would rather cut the cost somewhere else, than when buying a Bible. In my opinion, a Bible is the best investment you will make in your life, why skimp on it?. One good Bible that will last Twenty years or longer, doesn't cost as much as three or four; that only last a few years apiece. You can buy a decent quality Bible for a little less than a $100.00, but be prepared to break that barrier for a really good Bible. A $200.00 Bible over the course of a year will cost $.55 cents a day, divide that by Twenty years, and it has paid you back twenty times over. Most people spend more on their morning coffee than $.55 cents a day, and that will never pay you back.

Goatskin Leather:

A beautiful and very durable top-quality, natural grain leather. Strong yet supple, it is used for the finest Bible bindings. Traditionally known as Morocco leather. This is the most expensive of Bible bindings, Cambridge Bibles of England (US Dist. Baker Publishing Group), and R.L. Allan Bibles of Scotland (Allan's Bibles–Direct.com) start around $150.00 for Goatskin in a KJV. Cambridge has a U.S. distributor, if you want one. R.L. Allan has a direct order department from Glasgow Scotland, and is a better more economical source than its US distributor. You don't have to question the quality of the Bibles from either of these printer/binders, they are absolutely without question the best.

Calfskin leather:

A traditional high-quality leather used in fine Bible bindings. It is long-lasting, and its suppleness increases with use. Cambridge Bible calfskin bindings use only top-grain leather. Another of the high quality Leathers, that add considerably to the Bible cost. They are really! nice though.

French Morocco leather:

Leather made from a split calfskin, slightly thinner than other grades, and therefore flexible and soft even when new. A French Morocco Bible binding offers high-quality real leather, at an economical price. These Bibles are a nice choice when needing to save a little, and for the average user offer long term wear.

Berkshire Leather:

Berkshire leather, which according to Cambridge is "a term for pigskin – the material most commonly used in bookbinding when genuine leather is the description used." The skin is skivered (sliced) into thinner layers, and embossed with grain pattern, and usually finished with a pigment and gloss coating. These skins have a hard finish, and are somewhat stiff. Pigskin is an economical alternative to Goatskin or Calfskin, but not a good choice where soft feel and appearance is important. I have some of these they are really tough, but so are footballs.

Bonded Leather:

Bonded Leather is made from real leather strips and fibers that are grated, and bonded together, then embossed making it an alternative choice for both a durable, and economical Bible binding. Bonded Leathers have the relative look, feel, and smell of Genuine Leathers because they are also tannery made; most are made on the same equipment using the same methods as Genuine Leathers.
The animal skin fibers used to make Bonded Leathers, come from the tanning process of Genuine leathers when the hides are trimmed, and are brought to a uniform thickness. These strips or fibers are bonded (adhered) with natural latex adhesive. As a result, some Bonded Leathers (there are different quality's) are soft and smooth with a true leather aroma. But will not stand up as long to constant use, as Genuine Leather. I would recommend Bonded Leather only! where economy is of prime importance, or where it may be the only choice available.

Premium Bonded Leather:

Bonded leather that goes through a special, and more expensive manufacturing process to give the leather a soft feel and calfskin look. I have an Old Scofield Readers Edition, that has a Premium Bonded leather cover. I call it my "Butter Bible", because of its softness and flexibility. But it's hard to say, whether the increase in cost was worth it.

Simulated Leather:

These go by names such as; Tru-Tone, TuTone, Duo-Tone, Leatherlike or Leatherette, Etc. Some of these however have become quite good, and comparable to Bonded Leather over the years. And may be the better choice for a young persons Bible, considering the toss around care they usually get.

Hardback:

Hardbacks are more durable than both paper or kivar (coated paper) bound books. They are somewhat more expensive than paper, but are more economical than leather bindings. These are the choice for library Bibles (stay at home, and reference volumes), they save a considerable cost, and are about half that or less; of their leather counterparts. I have a few, and they show no substantial amount wear after many years of use.

Yap:

This has reference to the amount of leather on the cover that extends beyond the pages. This is to protect the paper from being dirtied by your hands. Some of the Allan Bibles offers "Full Yap" which means that the leather is long enough, that when you put your hand around it, the leather folds totally over the pages. Some folks don't like full yap leather, it has a tendency to interfere with turning pages, and takes some getting used too.

Smythe Sewn:

A Smythe sewn (Smyth in USA) binding is considered the highest quality binding, the pages are grouped together in small folded booklets sewn, and glued to the spine of the Bible. The benefits are a long lasting Bible that can be read, and reread for years without falling apart. Books with a Smythe sewn binding will stand up to more abuse than a regular glued binding, will lay open and can be read on a flat surface. Smythe-sewn Bibles are durable, but they may be heavier and less flexible than glued Bibles. That said if you want the best, then you want a Smythe sewn binding.

Art-gilt edges:

A decorative finish to the page edges in which a red dye, and Gold gilt foil combine to add richness and lustre to the finished volume. Bible pages finished with this method appear Gold on the edges when closed, and Ruby Gold when lying open. This type of page gilding, is found only on top of the line Bibles.

Gilt edges:

A decorative finishing style in which a Gold-coloured metallic foil is applied to the edges of the pages after they have been cut, and rubbed smooth. Silver foil is often applied to the page edges of Bibles bound in white.

Gilt line:

A plain Gold line or frame (sometimes decorative), on the inside of the front, and back covers of a Bible. Most of the time only used with Real Leather bindings, not as often with Bonded Leather.

India paper:

The paper traditionally, used for the best quality Bibles. The name is now generally used for papers that weigh less than 30 grammes per square metre (20lb paper in the USA.)

Bible paper:

Thicker than India paper, but still much thinner than common book papers.

Study Bible Editions:

A Study Bible is an edition of the Bible, prepared for the use of a serious student of the Bible. Such a Bible usually contains an extensive apparatus, which may contain such features as: Annotations explaining difficult passages or points of theology, and doctrine. References to indicate where one passage of the text relates to others.
A concordance, a word index that indicates where various key words are used in the Bible. Variant translations or interpretations of certain debatable passages, or possible textual corrections (i.e. alterations of the original Hebrew or Greek). Introductions, and historical notes for each book of the Bible. Maps, that illustrate the Holy Land during Bible times. Harmonies of the Gospels, pointing out parallel incidents in the life of Jesus. And Timeline's of Bible history that relate it to world history. Sometimes these Bibles get a little to "Author opinionative" in their notes, for my taste.

Reference Editions:

A Bible edition that includes cross-references, to guide the reader to other parts of the Bible where similar subjects are treated. Reference editions often include a concordance, maps, and other study material. These are my pick in a KJV of course – Oxford or Cambridge.

Text Editions:

A Bible edition in which the text only is provided without cross-references, and sometimes without maps and concordance. Like the Cambridge Kj653: T, hand sized large print edition (I own one). These are great for reading, where minimum distraction is desired from cross references, and footnotes.

Red Letter Editions:

Bibles which have the Words of Christ, printed in Red Lettering. The rest of the text is printed in Black Lettering

Black Letter Editions:

Bibles which have all the text printed in Black Lettering, including the Words of Christ. These Bibles are preferred by a surprisingly! large percentage of Christian people, and Pastors. I have come to favor these also. Red (pink) letter editions suffer from fading over the years, no matter how much the Bible cost.

Pronunciation marks:

Some Bible texts incorporate a phonetic system for indicating the way difficult names should be pronounced, showing the vowel sounds and stressed syllables, as in a dictionary. These volumes are sometimes called self-pronouncing. I find the clutter this introduces into the text distracting, and prefer my Bibles without this feature. Preferring instead the Scofield system, with a glossary of name pronunciations in the back of the Bible. But sometimes the Bible you want does not have everything!, or doesn't come without some things.

Thumb Index:

Thumb indexed editions, have semi-circular cuts in the outer margins of the pages. The abbreviated names of the books of the Bible are stamped on small tabs, which are firmly glued on to the first page of the individual books, these help the reader to find the pages quickly. I really don't care for this little luxury, to say nothing of the extra $10.00 or so it adds to the cost of a Bible. I also feel a page weakness is introduced by these little missing chunks of paper, and an increased danger of page tearing as an added feature.