Pitt Minion & Pocket Cross-Reference Compared
I debated doing this, as it can only cause pain, but since I snapped the photos and there's nothing like appreciating the unobtainable (or at least, the difficult to obtain), here goes. Cambridge is going to make the ESV Pitt Minion available in brown goatskin, so it might interest you to see some shots of a similar binding that was offered, until recently: the KJV in brown goatskin. I'm told these have officially sold out. You might still be able to find one if you hunt around.
Above: Cambridge's slender Pitt Minion setting of the KJV bound in brown goatskin.
This one falls just a little bit short of the NKJV Pitt Minion I reviewed back in June: it doesn't open as flat, it doesn't recover quite as quickly from being bent and flexed. But it's beautiful. This shade of brown strikes just the right chord with me, and I'm looking forward to seeing it on the upcoming ESV.
Since I made reference in the earlier Pitt Minion review to the Pocket Cross-Reference format, which is not marketed in North America, I figured I should post some pictures of how the two compare. It's only relevant for those of you reading the NIV, since that's the only format the Pocket Cross-Reference is available in -- and if you do catch the bug, you'll have to source it from Amazon.co.uk or a similar reseller. Pictured is the russet calfskin edition, which is even nicer than the Cabra bonded leather one I reviewed for the site.
Above: The Pitt Minion is taller and thinner, while the Pocket Cross-Reference is shorter and thicker. It all depends on what you prefer. The Pitt Minion is feels more slight, but the Pocket-Cross Reference feels better in the hand.
Above: Both formats are attractively bound. The russet calfskin is quite striking and unique, while the subtler brown goatskin might be easier to live with over time.
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.
