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Crossway's
Thinline Cordovan ESV
When
Crossway released the English Standard Version in 2001, I was enrolled
in a Westminster Doctrine
of Salvation class with Dr. David McWilliams. During the course
of one of his lectures, Dr. McWilliams mentioned the ESV, explained
a little bit about its history, and gave us an example (Ephesians
1:4-5) of an instance where the ESV's rendering was superior
to other translations. As the class progressed, Dr. McWilliams began
to use the ESV while teaching, and I did likewise, acquiring the
first of my many copies. As a translation, I loved it. My admiration
only grew when I read Leland Ryken's The
Word of God in English, which defends the ESV's "essentially
literal" approach to translation while questioning many of
the assumptions about readers that animate the more popular approach,
dynamic equivalence.
My
only problem was that Crossway packaged an excellent translation
in a lackluster package. Although I admired the typography -- except
the sections set in verse, where the ESV's narrow columns created
unintended line breaks (a problem that would be fixed by a single-column
setting -- the bindings left a great deal to be desired. Like so
many modern leather bindings, the Crossway Bibles felt as if they'd
been wrapped in cardboard. The leather was as likely to crease as
flex, and the Bible felt stiff and dead in the hand. Since I had
earlier acquired an appreciation for decent (or in modern parlance,
"fine") binding, this was enough to make me cry out to
the heavens in desperation.
So
I took matters into my own hands. As soon as the slimline edition
of the ESV came out, I sent one to Mechling Bookbindery and had
them re-bind it in goatskin. Although the result was not exactly
what I'd hoped for -- the elegance of, say, an Allan's binding was
absent -- I ended up with a comfortable, attractive (if somewhat
workmanlike) ESV. For a while, I planned another project: a compact
ESV to be re-bound according to more precise specifications, this
time with some additional artifacts of Reformed theology like the
Heidelburg Catechism and the Westminster Confession bound into the
back, something The
Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible (sadly available only
in the NIV) later did. So far, that project is still simmering on
the back burner.
By
the time I heard about Crossway's Thinline
Cordovan Premium Calfskin ESV, I had pretty much written Crossway
off. Their earlier effort at a "premium" binding, the
Heirloom
Reference, left me cold. It was bulky and the examples I saw
suffered from "fuzzy" imprinting. I expected the Thinline
Cordovan to be more of the same. But I was wrong. Dead wrong.
 Crossway's
Thinline Cordovan is the best manufacturer "premium" binding
I have ever handled. It takes some risks and they pay off. As far
as I'm concerned, this edition alleviates the need for re-binding
and is the must have Thinline ESV. (The must have
Reference ESV, if you are wondering, is the one from Allan's.)
Let's
talk about those risks I mentioned. The Thinline Cordovan is brown.
It isn't the sort of burgundy color you associate with the word
"cordovan," though. Instead, it is a rich, caramel brown.
The leather is completely smooth -- and that lack of grain is a
definite risk. When my friend Darrel handled his first Thinline
Cordovan (before I'd seen it), he told me afterward that he didn't
think I would like the smooth, shiny finish. When I heard those
words -- smooth, shiny -- I gulped. But then I saw the thing in
person and I was amazed. Another risk: the stitching. It's the sort
of detail that some people would take issue with; it certainly doesn't
blend into the background. To make a long story short, the Thinline
Cordovan takes some aesthetic risks, but they all pay off. The result
is a Bible that is unique on the market. Everyone who sees it --
and more importantly, handles it -- seems to want one.
 One
of the features I wanted on my project Bible was a leather lining,
but Mechling wasn't able to do it. Imagine my surprise when I opened
the Thinline Cordovan and discovered a richly grained leather lining!
If you click on the link above and buy the Thinline Cordovan from
Amazon.com, you'll pay about $100. But this is the one time in your
Bible-purchasing life when you will actually receive a Bible that
looks like you should have paid more than that. The picture doesn't
do the leather lining justice. Finding that grain tucked away inside
the smooth cover is an elegant touch. Whoever made that design choice
deserves much more than a pat on the back.
Unlike
the imprinting on the Heirloom ESVs I've handled, the Thinline Cordovan
features sharp, eye-catching imprint that contrasts well with the
color of the cover.
 If
you've hung around here long enough, you know that the real test
of a good binding is how "limp" it feels in the hand.
I expect a Bible to do two things: (1) lie flat when opened and
(2) pour like water when I prop the spine up in my hand. Most modern
Bibles, even the "premium" ones, won't do this. That's
one of the reasons I think hardbacks are so popular with people
who actually use their Bibles often -- and one of the reasons why
a hand-sized hardback like The
Message Remix impresses me even though I open it at random and
invariably wince at the language. When it comes to flex, the Thinline
Cordovan is impressive. Not only does it lay flat, but it goes limp
and melts when I prop it up by the spine. I can bend the cover over
backward, too, just as I can with the excellent Allan's bindings,
without leaving any tell-tale creases in the boards. If you compare
the "limp" picture here to the Allan's one, you'll see
that the Thinline Cordovan isn't quite up to that standard
-- but it's pretty good nevertheless.
Nothing
is perfect under the sun, bindings included, so what would I change
about the Thinline Cordovan if I could? First, I'd add an extra
ribbon. I've grown accustomed to having two, which makes it much
easier to attend to sermons that draw on more than one passage of
Scripture. In the perfect world, I would also replace the current
two-column setting with a single-column design, which I find much
easier to read. Why a modern, paragraphed text is placed in two
columns is beyond me -- I guess it's the power of tradition. But
since the ESV is far from alone in this regard, perhaps it isn't
fair to make too much of this point.
All
in all, I would say that the Thinline Cordovan goes a long way toward
redeeming Crossway's reputation. From what I've heard as of this
writing (May 2005), there are some more exciting editions in the
pipeline that might extend this triumph across the board. As far
as buying advice is concerned, if you're only going to have one
ESV, you might prefer the Allan's Reference edition in goatskin.
Then again, maybe not. The Thinline Cordovan has a lot to offer,
and you will not see another Bible like it. You don't get the center
column references, but perhaps you don't use them much anyway. If
you're going to have two ESVs, then it's a no-brainer. You have
to get the Thinline Cordovan.
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