Crossway’s 2021 version of the ESV Heirloom Bible Heritage Edition moves back to the Netherlands to create a Bible that stands up to its name. The Heritage is a hand-size single-column edition that’s ideal for everyday carry. It’s available in goatskin and a special cowhide from Horween Leather Company. I’m reviewing the Horween leather, ISBN: 9781433577659, made in the Netherlands by Royal Jongbloed.
Crossway provided this Bible in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.
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This book is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
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Table of Contents
Video Review
Cover and Binding
The cover is brown Horween cowhide leather from the Horween Leather Company in Chicago. The leather is tough and will last, but it will show wear over time. Mine shows minor scratches just from sitting on my desk. I think this leather will appeal to those that want a worn look- a leather that wears according to the way they’ve used it. Not to scratch it on purpose, but to be okay with scratches from daily use while remaining tough. I’m curious how it will soften with daily use. I’m hoping it will feel like the Bible cover equivalent of a pair of leather work gloves.
This leather has a deep brown with some color variation that gives it texture. It’s smooth to the touch and doesn’t have a noticeable grain. There is no printing on the front. The spine has 4 spine ribs and HOLY BIBLE, ESV, English Standard Version, and the Crossway logo dry stamped (meaning without color). The leather is thick. It’s flexible, but not overly floppy. The indications of the edge-lined tab show through the cover.
The liner is brown edge-lined leather. The edge-lined tab does feel stiff, but the Bible stays open on the first page of Genesis. There is a small hump because of the tab, but it isn’t enough to get in the way. The text block is sewn. Mine has a small amount of cockling. It’s only in the middle and it’s not much, but it was enough to mention.
It has 4 ribbons including black, dark brown, brown, and tan. The overall size is 6 x 9 x 1 1/2″. It weighs 2 lbs, 5.5 oz. This size is excellent for carrying and holding to read.
Paper
The paper is 28 gsm Indopaque milled in France. It’s only available in premium Bibles produced by Royal Jongbloed and is some of the highest quality and most expensive thin Bible paper available. it’s highly opaque for how thin it is. This is accomplished through a special coating and a titanium pigment to increase opacity. It has a slightly cream color and I love reading from it. Even though it’s thin, the texture is just rough enough to grab and turn. The page edges are art-gilt with red under gold that has a salmon shade.
In the back are 8 pages for notes. These are the standard Bible paper and are left blank.
Typography
The 2016 ESV text is presented in a single-column paragraph format. Poetry is placed in stanzas. The header shows the book name, chapter, and verse numbers in the outer margin, and the page number in the inner margin. Translation footnotes are placed in the footer. This text is a joy to read and use.
The typeface is 9.25-point, black letter Lexicon. It has 12 words per line with plenty of space between the lines and words. The print quality is dark and consistent throughout. The text is printed with line-matching to reduce show-through. It works well and the text doesn’t suffer from having text printed behind it on the other side of the page. Poetry is the only place that show-through is noticeable and I find this level of show-through to be acceptable even in a thicker paper. Poetry looks beautiful. The word count works well for the poetic divisions.
Section headings are in bold italics. They add space between the paragraphs and make it easy to scan the page. This does disrupt the flow somewhat, but it also keeps the page from looking like a sea of text. I ignore them when reading and use them when searching the page.
Footnote keys are are a small number in italics. I find them easy to use. Verse numbers are larger than the footnote keys and might be a touch darker than the text (but that’s hard to tell). They do stand out just a little bit, making them easier to find.
Footnotes
Footnote and reference callers are small enough to use and don’t get in the way when reading. References to parallel passages and quotes include letters. Footnotes include numbers. References are placed after the footnotes and are easy to find. I prefer the footnotes to include references like these. Even when it’s not a reference edition, I like having these references included in the footnotes. The footnotes include Hebrew and Greek explanations, manuscript variations (without identifying the manuscript), information about objects, places, names, money, references where something is quoted, etc.
Extras
There aren’t a lot of extras. In the front, there is a presentation page with family pages. These are printed on thick paper and include marriages, births/adoptions, and deaths.
In the back is the table of weights and measures. It’s a small table that shows the biblical unit, approximate American and metric equivalents, and biblical equivalents. This information is also covered in the footnotes, but I find the table handy to use.
Maps
In the back are the 8 Crossway maps printed on thick semi-glossy paper. The maps are printed with earth-tone colors and include distance, topography, borders, routes, rivers, kingdoms, etc. It doesn’t have an index to maps. Fortunately, they’re labeled well. I find them easy to use.
Maps include:
- The World of the Patriarchs
- The Exodus from Egypt
- The Twelve Tribes of Israel
- Israel Under Saul, David, and Solomon
- Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus
- Palestine in the Time of Jesus
- Paul’s First and Second Missionary Journeys
- Paul’s Third Missionary Journey and His Voyage to Rome
Comparisons
Here’s how the 2021 version of the ESV Heirloom Bible Heritage Edition compares to the Heirloom Single Column Personal Size ESV, Cambridge Clarion, and 2021 Heirloom Legacy. I’ve also included the Treveris in marbled mahogany calfskin to see how they’re different.
Cambridge Clarion
The Clarion is a reference edition made by Royal Jongbloed. It’s noticeably smaller in size. The paper in the goatskin edition is the same (28gsm Indopaque). The font is slightly smaller and it has less space between the lines. It includes a concordance and has twice the number of maps.
Crossway Heirloom Single Column Personal Size ESV
The Heirloom Single Column Personal Size ESV has a much smaller footprint, but it’s about the same thickness. The font is also smaller, which is less friendly to older eyes. It includes the same tools as the Heritage. Even though it’s an heirloom edition, it was made in China and has a much lower quality paper. I actually prefer to carry this size, but I’ll take the Heritage because of the better paper.
ESV Heirloom Legacy
The 2021 ESV Heirloom Legacy is slightly thinner and has a larger footprint. It has a slightly smaller font with much less space between the lines. The print is a touch darker, but it also has more show-through. The paper is the same. The section headings are in the margin, and the layout includes a wide margin on three sides. Its footnotes are a lot smaller. This edition has a concordance. I love it, but I find the Heritage easier to read because of the larger font and extra space between the lines. The Legacy is a better choice if you want the concordance, wide margins, or section headings removed from the text.
Schuyler Treveris in Marbled Mahogany Calfskin
The Schuyler Treveris in Marbled Mahogany Calfskin is the closest leather that I have that compares to the Horween cowhide. The marbled mahogany calfskin has more color variation and deeper grain. It’s still smooth when compared to other leathers. The liner is the same, but the gilt line gives the Treveris a more finished look. It’s slightly thicker and a touch more flexible. This one has a yapp, which allows for more leather to fold over the liner. The paper is the same and the Treveris print is a touch larger.
Conclusion
Crossway’s ESV Heirloom Bible Heritage Edition is my favorite ESV. The design is as close to perfect as I’ve seen. It has the right font size, weight, darkness, and spacing for me. This is an excellent daily-use Bible. I can easily recommend the ESV Heritage in either goatskin or Horween leather to anyone interested in a single-column, personal-sized ESV.
_________________________________________________________
This book is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
_________________________________________________________
Crossway provided this Bible in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.