Text Editions

• Recognizing a Fine Bible
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Glossary
• Leather binding materials
• List of University Printers

Related...

• English Standard Version
• King James Version
• New American Standard Bible
• New English Bible
• New International Version
• New King James Version
• New Living Translation
• New Revised Standard Version
• Revised English Bible
• Today's New International Version

• Book of Common Prayer

• Gift Editions

• About Cambridge Bibles
• Glossary
• Leather binding materials

• Cambridge Bible Stockists
• Bibles and prayer books for churches and schools

• Books and journals

Cover Materials

Real leather

Real leather is taken from an animal hide. ‘Split’ refers to the underside of the hide; the other side, ‘top-grain’, is superior and more expensive.

Goatskin
A beautiful and very resilient top-quality, natural grain leather. Traditionally known as ‘Morocco’ leather, it is strong yet supple and is used in the finest bindings.

The best goatskins for bookbinding come from an area of northern Nigeria where environmental conditions are ideal for producing hides with the necessary balance of strength and suppleness. Here they are partially tanned using the same vegetable materials and methods that have been used for several thousand years. Traditionally, they were transported by camel across the Sahara desert to merchants in Morocco (hence the term ‘Morocco leather’) from where they would be distributed throughout the ancient world.

Cambridge uses Nigerian goatskins finished in the United Kingdom for our top-of-the range bindings.

Calfskin
A traditional high-quality, long-lasting leather used in fine bindings. The finest calfskin is renowned for its distinctive natural grain and rich colour shading, features which make every Bible unique.

The best quality is sometimes known as ‘top-grain’ calfskin in the US. This refers to the retention of the strongest part of the hide. Some Bible publishers use cheaper grades of split calfskin, which lack the subtle qualities of the best material but are otherwise similar in appearance. Properly, they should be identified as such by using a different name to distinguish a split from top-grain.

Calf split leather
A superior grade to French Morocco leather, tanned to approach the quality and feel of full-grain calfskin leather.

French Morocco leather
Leather taken from a split hide – sheepskin, calf or cowhide. Slightly thinner than the other grades of leather and therefore relatively flexible and soft even when new. A French Morocco binding offers high-quality real leather at an economical price.

Faux leather

Modern technology has provided the binder with an impressive new range of moderately priced materials, which are nevertheless attractive to look at and handle, and wear very well indeed.

Bonded leather
This may be made from a combination of materials: leather fibres and bonding resin, and – with inferior grades – sometimes other materials such as card and paper. The materials used will determine appearance and longevity: not all Bible bindings described as ‘bonded leather’ will be of equal quality.

Cambridge Bibles in this category use the best quality material available: bonded leather made from 100% cowhide leather fibres recycled and reconstituted with a strong resin bonding.

Imitation leather
An attractive cover material with some visual and tactile resemblance to real leather, but at a lower price. May often be very colourful and highly decorative, and is very flexible.