The Holy Bible: King James version / The Pennyroyal Caxton Bible [Hardcover]

Barry Moser (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1999

Barry Moser has spent four years hand-creating, designing and illustrating his version of the Bible. The cast scenes from millennia past - from Jonah and the whale to the Last Judgement - are modelled on every-day people.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Holy Bible, designed and illustrated by Barry Moser, is as thrilling an experience as you'll ever find inside a dust jacket. Moser, the foremost fine press illustrator of our time, spent four years crafting the 232 relief engravings that illustrate this Bible. Printed in a deluxe limited edition by the Pennyroyal Caxton Press, Moser's Bible is also available in a reasonably-priced Viking Studio edition on acid-free paper, with a satin ribbon marker, specially-sewn binding, and cloth case. These details give the book, as a physical object, a weight and presence that dignifies its reader. It is no overstatement to say that when you begin turning the pages revelation occurs. Even from the first illustration--Adam and Eve, with unapologetically adult bodies, breathtakingly chunky and imperfect, making their way along a stream in the Garden of Eden--it's clear that Moser has a vision of God and humanity whose humility will change the way you see the world.

There are so many surprises here: Abram is jaunty (a surprise at first, but one would have to be to say "Here I Am."); Balaam's Ass stretches his mouth wide, teeth bared, conveying the comic terror of the idea that God would speak through his creatures; "Jesus Rabonni," Moser's first illustration of the Savior, depicts Jesus as such a goofy, joyful, solid man that your heart will leap, wanting to be with him. And in some measure, Moser's Bible will bring everyone who touches it a little closer to that rabbi. --Michael Joseph Gross

Review

An acclaimed artist and former fundamentalist preacher, Barry Moser began the Pennyroyal Caxton Bible, as it's known, about twelve years ago. He has received praise for his illustrated versions of books such as Moby Dick and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but he approached this undertaking more carefully, with an "awe-striking" sense of reverence.

The engravings themselves, almost two hundred and fifty scattered throughout both testaments, aren't the light and airy depictions that one might expect of biblical imagery. White-on-black, dark and frequently bleak, Moser's collection of images lends an ominous power to much of the book's resonance text. -- Books, September/October 1999

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1024 pages
• Publisher: Studio; First Trade Edition edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670887978
• ISBN-13: 978-0670887972
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 8.6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #735,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Barry Moser is the prizewinning illustrator and designer of nearly three hundred books for children and adults. He is widely celebrated for his dramatic wood engravings for the only twentieth-century edition of the entire King James Bible illustrated by a single artist. He is the Printer to the College at Smith College where he is Professor in Residence in the department of art. His work can be found in the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; the Metropolitan Museum; and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, among scores of other libraries and collections. He lives in western Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars bible as artwork and treasure, November 18, 1999

By 

vic spicer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Holy Bible: King James version / The Pennyroyal Caxton Bible (Hardcover)

this is an amazing value for the money- one of the most beautifully produced books i've seen, it's easily on par with the work of london's folio society.

illustrations- well, they boggle the mind. moser's people are beautifully alive and imperfect- see pg. 765 "the annunciation"; the look on mary's face holds a world of feelings.

the removal of verse index numbers makes the text much more readable. moser's choice of fonts, layout, odd little mark symbols (i know there's a name for them) and the occasional RED letter makes this awe-inspiring work even more beautiful.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just the Bible, March 5, 2000

By 

Richard S. Sullivan (Santa Fe, New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Holy Bible: King James version / The Pennyroyal Caxton Bible (Hardcover)

Now this has to be one of the weirder things in life: writing a book review of the Bible!

I have to admit that I'd like to own the Deluxe edition, but $30,000.00 is a bit beyond my means at the moment, and the Primary edition at $10,000.00 is a bit much too. These are very limited collectors editions. Here we have the everyman's edition at a reasonable price.

Whether one is religious or not, this book is a treasure. It is fully case bound and ripe with the delicious woodcuts of Barry Moser. The woodcuts are stunning and his work compares to best of Rockwell Kent and Leonard Baskin -- and that is saying a lot!

Now I have to confess: I have not read it through... well parts here and there, but with this great book in hand, I just might. I am not a religious person, but do I view the bible as one of the great pieces of literature and part of the Western Canon. I have always found the standard floppy bible format difficult to read with it tiny type, and wrinkly paper. Also I've never been able to ignore those numbers. The Pennyroyal does not used numbered verses. It is also laid out in two column justified newspaper style. The format and type is designed for reading. It's beautifully typeset in Matthew Carter's Galliard and Mantinia fonts.

The downside and the upside is that it is in the King James version with New Testament included. The downside is it is full of howbeit's and art not thou's, not a language that falls off ones tongue. The upside is that it is King James, and if one wishes to read it as literature, all of the great references that have been made in the Canon are from the King James.

Believer or nonbeliever, heretic or saint, this book belongs on everyone's shelf -- better yet, in your lap.

65 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Put Your Specific Faith Or Lack Thereof Aside For A Moment, November 1, 1999

By 

taking a rest - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Holy Bible: King James version / The Pennyroyal Caxton Bible (Hardcover)

I am fortunate in that Mr. Moser was a teacher of mine in high school. If he kept track I was also probably his worst calligraphy student. I could not draw a vertical line, so he literally held my hand, and then his guiding hand produced magic. Unfortunately for me, I was, like some teenagers equipped with an organ more akin to a gland than a brain. You cannot review this book. One can comment on whether The King's James Version is or is not enjoyable or the language too dated to push through. This is about the illustrations for each of the collection of books that is The Bible. Try to put aside as best you can the secular nature of the story, forget the words, and look at the images. These works are in black and white, and now that I have seen them I do not believe they can be effectively portrayed any other way. Color can be distracting, color can be inappropriate. In Steven Spielberg's Movie, "Schindler's List" would red blood spreading on white snow have been more or less dramatic? How about the same movie in color? It would not have been the same movie. These images while beautifully composed, and incredibly detailed, accomplish making there point or points with as much impact as a visual experience can be with a simple palette of color, or perhaps better described as contrast. When you see Job you see suffering that is unimaginable, and knowledge of the story, or the fact that it is a Christian story, to me, is missing the point and not recognizing what Mr. Moser has accomplished. Knowing the suffering comes from loyalty does make it even more powerful that this man endures this for something he believes. Any religion can have this loyalty. Knowing a bit of the story makes the image more dramatic, if that's possible. You want pure Human evil, and the horror it creates? Look at the crucifixion series. This shows what it must have been like to suffer such a deranged man-made form of torture and murder. And it is not because Mr. Moser shows you hammers, nails, and blood, that's the easy way out. He shows you enough to trigger the horror within you. To understand what man is capable of doing to his own. It does not matter what sort of building you worship in, or whether you worship at all. You cannot view these images without being affected. These people that he has rendered are the people you see every day. These are not the The Medici's idealized gigantic frescoes, not an altar piece approved by a committee and rendered by Carravagio (I Love Carravagio) on hundreds of square feet of space that will make an impression if only for their size. Some of these illustrations are quite small, they force you to get close, and the size has nothing to do with what they are able to communicate. We are the only Species that tortures it's own. It's a fact, it's sad, and it raises some disturbing questions. But look at these pictures, "read" them. A grieving Mother can be a Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Cherokee, or Zulu. They are the same in their grief. If Mr. Moser could teach Humanity to all "Humans" with his images, then we would be worthy of the world we then would have. Mr. Moser, a sincere thanks.