A New Heirloom
The long-awaited ESV Heirloom Single Column Personal Size Bible from Crossway is finally here.
A few years ago, while doing a residency week in California for my studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, one of my friends and classmates sat down next to me and opened up his Bible. It caught my eye immediately. This Bible was small without being too small, and I loved its single-column formatting and soft brown leather cover. I looked inside and learned that it was Crossway’s Personal Size Reference Bible. Sure enough, a quick search informed me that it was out of print in anything but cheap TruTone covers with flowers all over them.
And that, my friends, is how I unwittingly found myself on a quest to find the perfect small Bible.
I first came across Crossway’s product page for the new ESV Heirloom Single Column Personal Size Bible in early 2019 when I was purchasing a different Heirloom bible for a friend. It was originally slated to be released in September of that year, but was pushed back to March 2020. I probably checked that page hundreds of times in the ensuing month… just in case.
The Bible arrived a few days ago, and it was worth the wait!
A Smaller Single Column
This Bible really feels like the younger sibling of Crossway’s immensely popular ESV Heirloom Single Column Legacy Bible, which features a 6” x 9” trim size and 9pt type size with section headings moved into the wide margins to create a cleaner reading experience. The new Heirloom Personal (essentially an update of the ESV Heritage Bible) features a smaller 5” x 7.375” trim size while miraculously keeping the 9pt type size. This is accomplished by reducing – but not removing – the margin space and adding overall thickness (the full text of scripture is about 300 pages longer). It also places the section headings in their traditional home within the text.
What all of this adds up to is an extremely pleasant reading experience in this compact Bible. The text has plenty of room to breath, and the single column format really lends itself to reading large sections of scripture at a time.
It’s worth noting that this is not a “Reference Edition” (like the Bible my seminary friend had). This Bible contains standard ESV footnotes, but it does not have cross-references, nor does it have a concordance (contrary to what Crossway’s website lists in the “additional features”). So if you’re looking for a Bible to read, this is a great option. If you want to dive a little deeper into study, you’ll need some additional resources.
FEATURES
• Edge-lined goatskin cover
• Smyth-sewn binding
• Art gilding
• Single-column format
• Wide margins
• High-quality paper
• Line matching
• Full-color maps
• 5” x 7.375” trim size
• 9pt type size
• 1.4” thick
The Heirloom Difference
The “Heirloom” Bibles from Crossway are made with premium materials, attention to detail, and superior craftsmanship. They are more expensive than most Bibles, but they are built to last. This includes aesthetic touches (goatskin covers, art gilding on the pages, perimeter stitching), readability (high-quality paper, line matching), and construction (Smyth-sewn binding and edge-lined goatskin).
*For you premium Bible lovers: This Bible is one of Crossway’s new Heirlooms being printed and bound in China by RR Donnelley, a move from prior Heirloom production at the renowned Royal Jongbloed in the Netherlands. This naturally leads to many questions, and after a comparison with my Jongbloed-made Heirloom Legacy, the most notable differences are that this new Heirloom Personal has softer goatskin and its paper is whiter and feels less coated than the Legacy (see image below).
Worth The Wait
I’m a big fan of Crossway because they consistently make beautiful and thoughtful products, and the ESV Heirloom Single Column Personal Size Bible is no exception.
Is it the perfect small Bible?
Stay tuned, friends… there’s a lot more to come.
