The Crossway ESV Heirloom Single Column Legacy Bible - New Edition Printed in China
It's a widely known fact that Crossway has moved the production of all of their premium Bibles to China. There has been a lot of criticism over this among the premium Bible community. The company recently re-released one of my favorite editions of the ESV that used to be printed in the Netherlands—The ESV Heirloom Single Column Legacy Bible or the Heirloom Legacy for short. I was excited to get my hands on the new edition to see how it stacks up against its predecessor.
If you want the short and sweet, I think the new edition has pros and cons in comparison to its Netherlands counterpart. In this review, I hope to talk about those pros and cons while giving you a summary of what you can expect from the Heirloom Legacy so you can decide if you're interested in one. If you want to see my previous review of the Netherlands bound Legacy, you can find that here.
FIrst and foremost, this new edition comes in black goatskin and blue goatskin. Interestingly, the previous edition came in a black goatskin or a deep brown goatskin. I actually like Crossway's move in bringing a little color to their Heirloom collection so I picked up the blue version, which I think looks great.
That brings me to the goatskin itself. The goatskin feels the same as the new ESV Creeds and Confessions Bible. This is a vastly different feel from the Heirloom Legacy that was bound in the Netherlands. Sadly, the feel of this goatskin leaves something to be desired. My biggest critique of Crossway moving their production to China is that the goatskin feels like a lesser quality than what we've been used to. It almost has a rubbery feel to it while the previous edition has smooth, premium feel that really screams that you're holding a Bible that is well above average. I will note that the Goatskin on my Creeds and Confessions Bible has seemed to soften up with use and has a bit of a better feel to it (so I have hope there). Another note is that if you've never owned a premium Bible before, you will ike this Bible. It still has a premium feel—just not as premium as past editions.
One change I do like since Crossway has moved to China is that their covers have more yapp. If you're unfamiliar, the yapp is the part of the cover that hangs over the page edges. Having more yapp means you can train the cover to fold over the page edges and protect them. I think this is a nice move on Crossway's part.
The page edges have a gold over blue art gilt. The spine has four raised ribs with the words, "HOLY BIBLE", the new ESV logo, "ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION", and the Crossway logo in gold foil. The Bible has navy head and tail bands. The Bible has four single-sided satin, navy bookmarks. The bookmarks are another pro in this new edition of the Heirloom Legacy. I felt that the Netherlands addition had cheap looking bookmarks for what was such a nice Bible. They were also too short. While I would have preferred they use double-sided satin, these are a definite upgrade and they are long enough.
Inside, the Bible is edge lined with a gold gilt line around the perimeter. I believe the inside cover is a navy calfskin. The Bible has several presentation and family pages. It also includes a preface with translation notes. The cover is smyth-sewn for that durability you'd want from an edition like this.
Here, I will pause to say two things that I find interesting. First, I had trouble with the Creeds and Confessions ESV Bible. It had several noticeable flaws out of the box. I'm happy to say that isn't the case with the Heirloom Legacy, which gives me hope quality control is improving for these premium editions. Second, the new Heirloom Legacy is noticeably thicker than the previous edition. I will speak more to that later, but wanted to mention it now. You can see it in the pictures below.
The type setting is what I love so much about this Bible. It, to me, is the perfect reader. The setting is based on the Renaissance ideal of a perfect page. I do consider this the perfect page. There are generous margins creating a lot of white space around the textuu2—which is great if you're a note taker and can bring yourself to write in it. The paragraph headings are moved to the margins so the text is uninterrupted. It has a 9 point font and it truly provides an immersive reading experience and the text is line-matched to help improve ghosting.
The layout is exactly like the Netherlands edition down to the page number, but as I said earlier, this Bible is noticeably thicker. That brings me to the paper. The paper in the new edition appears to me to be of higher quality. It is whiter so the text seems a little bolder. It also seems there is slightly less ghosting. I think the paper in the new Bible is a pro and probably the factor making it thicker. The Bible features a concordance and maps at the end.
This Bible has a lifetime guarantee from Crossway so you can bet that if anything were to go wrong from the manufacturing side of things, they will replace it.
All in all, I think the new edition of the Heirloom Legacy has more pros than cons. Honestly, it surprises me to say that. However, I do think the con is a big one. I hope Crossway seeks to improve the leather quality of their future Heirloom editions. I have been using this Bible and enjoying it though and I think you will too. I'm happy to recommend the new Chinese produced Heirloom Legacy to you
You can pick up a copy of the new Heirloom Legacy here. (affiliate)
You can pick up a copy of the Netherelands bound Heirloom Legacy here (affiliate) (once these are gone, they are gone).
Disclaimer: I receieved a complimentary copy of this Bible from Crossway in exchange for a fair and honest review.
