5-year review: Allan ESVR1

This was my favorite Bible, the one I used for teaching, preaching, study, and general reading. It was my near-constant companion for almost five years, and possibly the biggest purchase I ever made for myself that wasn't a vehicle. Even now it's hardly ever more than a dozen feet from me.

First, let me tell you about Allan. R. L. Allan and Sons is a bookbinder in London. Binders are responsible for the outside, and Allan specializes in something they call "highland goatskin". This is goatskin that's unprocessed beyond tanning and adding color, which has the advantage of making a very soft cover that lasts virtually forever, but has the disadvantage of being very expensive.

At any rate, mine's got a black cover, three thick blue ribbons that look great with the black, and art-gilt pages, which means the edges are dyed as well as covered in gold. In short, it's a joy to look at, and even better to feel and smell. I read it more because it felt so good to hold. It also made my hands smell like leather, but that's a whole 'nother post.

The ESV in ESVR1 means that the inside is the English Standard Version. The 1 just means it's black. The R designates this as a Reader's Edition, slightly larger than the other ESVs Allan had bound to that point. The extra size meant a couple of things. First, while not a true wide margin, it held a lot of information in those bigger margins, especially when someone wrote as small as I did. Second, the font was bigger, making it easy to find my place.

I've had it for five years, and never babied it, and other than my notes and scratches on the gilt, it still looks the same as it did when it arrived.