GlimpseJ. MARK BERTRAND54 Comments

First Glimpse of Chocolate Brown Allan's ESV1

GlimpseJ. MARK BERTRAND54 Comments

Thanks to Daniel Holle, whose son popped into the Glasgow storefront of R. L. Allan's and snapped these photos, I can now share some images of the new ESV1 BR -- the same Classic Reference layout but with a chocolate brown highland goatskin cover and three ribbons: one green, one purple, and one brown. Over the holidays, I've gotten e-mail about this edition pretty much every day, so I just want to let everyone know that (a) yes, I know about them, (b) I'm expecting one to review, and (c) I plan to do a side-by-side post of the three current color options: black, tan, and chocolate brown.

With no further ado, let's take a look at the photos:

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Above: The three editions of the Allan's ESV1 -- tan, chocolate brown, and black.
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Above: A peek inside the tan edition.
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Above: The chocolate brown, with the brown, purple and green ribbons displayed.

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Above: Inside the chocolate brown. The gilt line is visible on the cover's edge.
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Above: The chocolate brown spine.
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Above: The art gilt page edges.
The price at Bibles-Direct.com is £95, which at today's exchange rate is about $132. They're available from EvangelicalBible.com for $149.75 shipped. Available in early February. 

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.