The Holman CSB Personal Size Bible in Black Genuine Leather
Holman has been cranking out quality editions of the CSB. I’ve been really impressed by their recent offerings and it is clear that they intend to be competitive in the Bible market. I’m really excited to share this highly portable edition with you today.
The Holman CSB Personal Size Bible is being touted as the "CSB Pitt Minion" by some. It’s made to be a grab and go Bible that will be very useful for those out doing ministry and incredibly convenient for those who want a Bible they can throw in their purse or back pocket. In some ways, I find it to be better than the Pitt Minion. In others, it doesn’t quite hit that mark. Let’s take a look.
I’m reviewing the Genuine Leather edition. The black leather is really nice. It has a nice feel and a really nice grain pattern. The cover is perimeter stitched with black stitching on the outside and red on the inside. I think the red stitching adds a really nice accent and I think I would’ve been ok if they had used red on the outside too. It gives it a slightly unique and attractive look.
The spine features the CSB logo in gold, "HOLY BIBLE", "CHRISTIAN STANDARD BIBLE", and "HOLMAN" at the bottom. Lines are stamped into the spine to simulate ribs and separate the sections. The Bible has gold gilt on the page edges, it is Smyth-sewn, and has one red double-sided satin bookmark. I would’ve loved to see Holman include another bookmark here. The Bible is thick enough to afford two and this is one area the Pitt Minion outshines this Personal Size Bible.
This Bible has what I believe to be a paste-down vinyl liner, which is a nice touch. The vinyl increases flexibility, which is helpful when you’ve got a portable Bible that you’re taking on the go and fitting in small spaces. The vinyl liner is also a little higher quality than a paper liner.
The paper itself is a true white. It’s very opaque for an edition of this size and as best I can tell it appears to be line-matched (if not, it’s very close). The text itself is a 7.5-point type that’s very readable. It may not be an edition you’d sit and read from for hours, but to take to church or a Bible study, I think it’s quite good. Words of Christ are in red.
Where I think this Bible actually outshines the Pitt Minion is the text block. The layout of the CSB is much more pleasing to my eyes than the Pitt Minion. The CSB has a double-column layout with footnotes separated by a line at the bottom. For me, the Pitt Minion is trying to do too much in a portable edition. It has a center column with references separated by vertical lines on each side. This makes the layout look blocky. They also put the footnotes in the bottom, right hand corner. It’s a very busy page layout. Because of this, the font size is smaller in the Pitt Minion and it’s not as readable as the CSB.
Rounding out the CSB Personal Size Bible is a list of helpful verses to turn to in different situations, a Table of Weights and Measures, and eight full-color paper maps. I’m not a fan of maps in Bibles, but these are actually nicely done.
I’m going to shoot you straight. If there was a CSB Pitt Minion and I had to choose between it and the Holman CSB Personal Size Bible, I’d take the Personal Size Bible every time. The cleaner page layout and the bigger font win me over. Holman has created a great, portable edition. It’s also much more affordable because they used genuine leather instead of goatskin. I’d love to see another bookmark added, but ultimately, I can’t recommend this Bible enough if you’re looking for a portable CSB. I liked it so much, I bought a second copy in LeatherTouch. If you’re a CSB fan, this edition should be in your arsenal. Check out a couple of comparison photos below.
You can pick up your copy of the CSB Personal Size Bible in genuine leather on Amazon (affiliate) or at Lifeway.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this Bible from Holman in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Cambridge Topaz (left) and CSB Personal Size Bible (right)
