Why is Cabra Bonded Leather Better?
Eric Hampton of Intercover Ltd. got in touch recently to share some information about Cambridge's "Cabra bonded leather." If you've read my review of the Pocket Cross-Reference NIV, you know that this is the only bonded leather I've ever praised. I knew there was something different about Cabra, but I didn't know what it was. Now, thanks to Eric, I do. He explains:
We are the UK agents for Salamander Bonded Leather, who manufacture Cabra used by Cambridge University Press here in the UK. You may be interested to know that Cabra is the only bonded leather manufactured using only natural ingredients. The 'resin' described in the CUP description of Cabra is in fact natural latex, not a man-made plastic resin. In fact, it is one of a number of products like paper that can be described as being manufactured from recycled materials and is wholly biodegradable. This does not apply to any other bonded leather product except Cabra.
Thanks for the information, Eric. Perhaps the natural latex accounts for the increased suppleness found in Cabra bonded leather. Whatever it is, the difference is quite pronounced in comparison to the plastic-like feel of other bonded Bibles.
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.