Customer Reviews

The Holy Bible: Illuminated Family Edition : King James Version, Burgundy

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an ordained pastor for 30 years, I have seen many, many diferent Bibles over the years, and have often been responsible to select, from all the many Bibles in print, which Bibles we would order to be given away, sold at cost for wide distibution, made available at Church book ministries, etc.. Undoubtedly, this is the most beautiful printing job for the money I have ever seen (it was printed in China). There are lovely full-color old masters and ornamentation on virtually every page, copied from a Medieval hand-illuminated Bible. The genalogy and family info pages are about the best I have ever seen also. I have shown my copy to numerous people, and the usual result is, "What did that cost?" Most guess in the 100's. After they recover from the shock of hearing it is under $25, the next question is usually, " Where can I get one?" The spine has raised ribs, as usually only found on much more expensive books. The cover is fake but acceptable leather grain. If this were bound in genuine leather, it would be the absolutely perfect family Bible, but of course it would have to cost $25 to $50 more- but I, for one, would be glad to pay it. I can't comment on how well the binding will hold up, as I just received mine last week. It has the straight, beautiful old King James Version text, without notes or comments. Thunder Bay Press has done a great service to the world in making this available. I intend to get each of my seven children a copy for Christmas. Highly recommended!

If you love to have a beautiful copy of the Bible in your bookshelf, this is a must. KJV Bible with many illuminations from the medieval era. The illuminations are mostly same as printed in Turner's large, expensive edition of the NRSV published in 1995: but mostly the illumations are much bigger and the book is much much inexpensive! One thing I feel pity is that this Bible does not contain the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books, which were published in the original KJV.
I enjoy reading the poetic, though out-dated, translation with so many beautiful illuminations!

My wife and I recently bought this Bible, and we love it. The hundreds of illustrations and decorative borders are beautiful, and we like the large, thick pages. I was surprised by how big and heavy this Bible is.

I usually prefer to read more modern translations, but the older English of the King James Version is a perfect complement to the Renaissance-era artwork. If you like illuminated manuscripts or religious art, you'll appreciate this Bible.

This is the classical-Protestant King James Bible with Medieval and Renaissance artistry from the classical-Catholic Urbino Latin Vulgate Bible. The cover and binding are fine and sturdy. The pagination is of a mellow latte cream color with a smooth, yet non-flashy texture, and has nicely gilded page borders with flourishes. The font of the text is in an easy to read style -- with traditional illuminated head letter capitals. The illustrations are colorful, plentiful and wonderful. Quoted from the preface -- "This Illuminated Family Edition of the Holy Bible combines the great beauty of Renaissance art and bookmaking with the text of the Bible considered by many to be the finest prose in the English language, that of the King James Version." This old-and-new Classic has incredible material and spiritual value +++

This beautiful bible is jam-packed with art taken from Renaissance bookmaking (mainly the Urbino Bible), and it is printed on heavy, glossy paper with rich, high-quality ink. The translation is that of the King James Version.

This bible exceeded my expectations and is probably one of the most beautiful family bibles on the market at a very reasonable price. Five stars.

Take note that this Bible is over 5lbs! It is really big and heavy, making it hard to read. I have it sitting on my kitchen table for now, propped up, so I can browse through it, but it's not a very practical Bible. It's a pain to carry it around the house, and to read it in my favorite chair I need pillows to prop it up on. I do like the copied illustrations and I really love the weathered look given to the Bible's pages, making it look old. I was disappointed that the Renaissance people in the illustrations are quite ugly, short with square-ish heads. It was not painted in the style of chubby cupids or life-like statues of Christ that you might see in museum artwork. People might be disappointed that the artwork is not "pretty." I actually like the flourishes around the letters and the scroll-y column artwork better than any of the big illustrations! It's interesting to look at, and I especially like the pages in the front of the Bible for writing in your family history, making it a special keepsake. I will keep it as part of my growing collection of Bibles, but it's not my favorite.