Spanish New Testament: "La Biblia de las Americas", Rebound by Abba Bibles
Cristian Franco has had a number of Bibles rebound by Abba Bibles in México. The latest project we'll showcase is a New Testament originally published in the 1970s. Cristian rescued two copies from Amazon.com and sent one for transformation. Here are the results. As I said before, in each of these posts, I'll begin with Cristian's description, then share the photos. The captions are written by me. So with no further ado:
Spanish New Testament "La Biblia de las Americas"
I ordered the rebinding of this New Testament when my wife and I were living in Mexico. (I serve the Lord in the Luis Palau Team, and now live here in Argentina). The text is "La Biblia de las Américas", a very special and literal translation made by Lockman Foundation (creators of the NASB translation). I found two copies of this edition (printed in the 70's) at Amazon and I bought them. Then, I sent one of them to Abba Bibles to be rebound. And I ordered it in blue, my favourite color!
This edition is bound in blue calfskin with leather linings, gold page edges, and one ribbon marker. My name is embossed on the cover.
-- Cristian Franco
Above: The blueness of the leather comes through loud and clear in these photos. I'm quite fond of the contrasting stitch around the edge.
Above: Note how the cover wraps around the corner of the page. "Semi-yapp" is interpreted in various ways, some edges more curved than others, but what such covers should have in common is that they embrace the text block in clamshell fashion.
Above: The title page.
Above: Heart-shaped Bible yoga.
Above: The page spread. Notice how much distance there is between the page edge and the cover? My guess is that this started off as a glued edition. The layout is interesting, don't you think? A narrow text column and generous margin for references.
Above: Again, this reminds me of the inside cover of my Crossway Cordovan Calfskin ESVs. I love the clean edge, the leather lining, and the contrasting stitches.
Above: Now this is interesting. Cristian's name is embossed on the cover, but there's no gold gilt applied. Putting names on the cover like this is an old tradition, but one I haven't really indulged in. (I sometimes think I'd be happiest with no imprinting at all, on the front of the spine.) If you're going to do it, I like the subtlety of this approach.
Above: Close-up of the imprinting: Nuevo Testamento.
Above: Very clean. I like the bare spine. What can I say? I'm a minimalist.
Above: One last look.
J. Mark Bertrand is a novelist and pastor whose writing on Bible design has helped spark a publishing revolution. Mark is the author of Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007), as well as the novels Back on Murder, Pattern of Wounds, and Nothing to Hide—described as a “series worth getting attached to” (Christianity Today) by “a major crime fiction talent” (Weekly Standard) in the vein of Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Henning Mankell.
Mark has a BA in English Literature from Union University, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, and an M.Div. from Heidelberg Theological Seminary. Through his influential Bible Design Blog, Mark has championed a new generation of readable Bibles. He is a founding member of the steering committee of the Society of Bible Craftsmanship, and chairs the Society’s Award Committee. His work was featured in the November 2021 issue of FaithLife’s Bible Study Magazine.
Mark also serves on the board of Worldview Academy, where he has been a member of the faculty of theology since 2003. Since 2017, he has been an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife Laurie life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.