The ESV Heirloom Alpha

Sep 12

Sep 12 The ESV Heirloom Alpha

It’s always exciting to get review a brand new Bible. That makes the reviewing the Heirloom Alpha from Crossway especially exciting. It’s a Bible we’ve never seen before so everyone is curious about it. Let’s not waste anymore time and jump right in.

I’m reviewing the black goatskin edition. This is a compact Bible, but it gets the Heirloom treatment. It comes in a small, premium black and gold box that is signature to Crossway. It comes wrapped in their velvet like material letting you know that what you’ve got is a high quality item. It’s also coming from the Netherlands, which means you know that this Bible has the full premium treatment going on.

Compact premiums are really fun if I’m being honest. This Bible is about the size of my hand and I love seeing the goatskin, spine hubs, and art gilding on such a small package. The goatskin is soft and flexible. It both feels and looks nice. On the spine are four raised hubs. Stamped in gold are “HOLY BIBLE”, “ESV”, “ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION”, and the Crossway logo.

The Bible is perimeter stitched, the head and tail bands are Crossway’s signature alternating black and yellow. It only has two ribbons. They are black double-sided satin and are the typical narrower ribbons that Crossway uses. While Crossway’s ribbons get a lot of criticism, I think the narrower ribbons are actually fitting on this Bible given the size. The page edges are red under gold art gilt.

Inside you’ll find a nice black calfskin liner with a gold perimeter gilt line. There are black vinyl end sheets. This Bible also has a set of family records pages, which might be an odd choice for a compact. the Bible is both edge-lined and Smyth-sewn for durability and comes with a lifetime guarantee.

The Bible doesn’t stay open in Genesis and I couldn’t really get it to stay open until about Numbers. I’m sure with some breaking in that this can be resolved. The paper is a beautiful white premium European Bible paper. I think it’s probably 28 gsm. The layout is double column with an 8 point type. Footnotes are included at the bottom. The back features several full color maps and some blank sheets you could use for notes.

So the question with the Alpha becomes, “How does this Bible stack up to some other more compact and portable editions from Crossway?” Both the Large Print Compact and the Thinline have 8 point fonts as well. Is the Alpha worth it? The answer depends on what you want.

The Alpha is a bit bigger than the Large Print Compact, but the Large Print Compact doesn’t come in a premium edition and also features red letter for Words of Christ. The other key is line spacing. A little more line spacing can make a smaller type size look larger. The Alpha has better line spacing so when you look at it and the Large Print Compact together, it looks like the Alpha has a larger font. For me, this makes the Alpha the automatic winner between these two. I love a larger font.

Large Print Compact - right
Alpha - left

The Alpha and the Thinline are also an interesting match. They both come in Heirloom editions and both only have two ribbons. The Alpha is a bit thicker and noticeably shorter. Inside, I think the Thinline may have just a bit more line spacing, but maybe not. However, the Thinline does fit more words per page, making it thinner. It also features a Concordance in the back where the Alpha does not. I’m not sure I see a clear winner here. I think it’s all about size between the two. If you want something shorter and bit more compact, but slightly thicker then go with the Alpha. If you like something thinner and want a Concordance then go with Thinline.

Crossway has created an excellent premium compact with the Alpha. It’s beautiful and is a great size for both portability and readability. I’d love to see them make the Personal Size Reference an Heirloom as well. The Alpha is an excellent offering though that will hold up to your use and go with you pretty much anywhere.

Pick up yours at Crossway and be sure to sign up for a free Crossway+ membership to receive 30% off. You can also pick it up over on Amazon (affiliate).