Blank Bible Rebind Project by Paul Sawyer
David Ernest Sumrall did everything right. He started with an excellent edition. He went to an excellent binder. He got an excellent result. The photos speak for themselves:
David wrote to me about the project:
I stumbled across your blog one day and must admit I fell in love. There are few things that I enjoy in life as much as a good Bible to read. I have filled so many Bibles with notes that I can no longer find that I was completely intrigued by your blank Bible concept. I contacted Paul Sawyer and had him make three sets of blank Bibles for me based on the Cambridge single column NIV. I had one set done in red for my wife, a brown set for a friend and a black with blue interior for myself. I thought I would send you the pictures. Paul did an excellent job and I am having so much fun. Thank you so much for the wisdom your website has presented.
Here's how the exterior turned out:
Obviously, the NIV Single Column Text Bible was divided into three parts. Interleaving all that extra paper -- a blank page between each printed one -- would have increased the heft considerably, especially with thicker paper. The spines look great. With those raised bands and the crisp lettering, they'd look nice on a shelf of antiquarian volumes.
A single column text setting is ideal for the wide margin treatment, since you can make notes right beside the relevant passage. As you can see, the same principle applies to blank Bibles. The NIV Single Column from Cambridge is an ideal starting point for this kind of project.
If you search the site, you can find other examples of Paul Sawyer's work. I'd like to offer a special thanks to David for sharing the photos with us. This is an inspirational project, to be sure!
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.