About Cambridge Bibles
Cambridge University Press has been publishing the Bible since 1591. Cambridge Bibles continue to be of the highest quality, created by craftsmen and women using traditional methods and materials.
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The Cambridge Guarantee
Cambridge Bibles are unconditionally guaranteed for life against
defective materials or workmanship of any kind. Each Cambridge
Bible has been made with skill and care from the best and most
appropriate materials. Treated with reasonable care and respect
as befits a well-made and valuable article, it will give years
of use.
The cover material used in the binding of fine Bibles
is a natural product, and many of the binding processes still require
craft techniques and skills, so making each leather Bible unique.
However, if any customer has reason to believe that a Bible suffers
from defects in materials or workmanship and that its condition
is not the result of normal use or damage after purchase, they should
return it to the place where it was purchased. We will arrange to
inspect it and, if a replacement is warranted, we will provide one
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 The World's Best Leather Bibles
Cambridge University Press is committed to the finest printing and binding.
We have our own Printing House in Cambridge which is unique in being able
to trace its history to the very beginnings of printing with moveable
type. In our dedicated Craft Bindery, each volume is treated with same
attention to craftsmanship as was our first Bible in 1591. A hallmark
of Cambridge quality is the care taken in choosing the finest leathers
from around the world. Each is scrutinised and, if accepted, is then cut
to size for making the leather cases for Bible pages. Cambridge uses a
range of leathers, with different grains appropriate to the size of the
Bible.
Care and Handling
Leather, unlike many modern materials, will maintain its attractiveness if you follow a few simple guidelines. Keep the Bible away from sources of extreme heat and from water. Use a slightly damp cloth to clean it but please do not use any detergents or packaged Bible cleaning products. The best preservative for leather bindings is a natural substance: the oils transferred from your hands. The more you handle the Bible, the more quickly it will become supple to the touch.
The combination of very thin paper and a generous layer of gilding means that
sometimes the pages stick together until they are separated for the first time. If this
happens, hold the pages between your thumb and index finger and rub them together
with just enough pressure as is necessary to release the pages.
Stitching
The stitching used to sew the pages together is tough but thin, so open
the pages carefully at first to allow the threads to settle. Incidentally,
when you open a Cambridge Bible, you may see an extra row of stitching along
the inner edge of some of the pages. This is evidence of the extra step
our binder takes to secure the pages against strain. This extra stitching
is added to the first and last sections of the larger Cambridge Bibles to
protect the most vulnerable pages.
 Ribbon markers
Ribbon markers allow you to keep your place while looking up cross-references and to mark a particular passage to which you want to return. If the Bible is one of our larger volumes, it may have two ribbons so you can keep your place in both the Old and the New Testaments at the same time. At Cambridge we take special care in choosing ribbon markers. Strong ribbons of appropriate breadth for the size of each Bible are selected, so that they will not curl up, become thread-like and, in extreme cases, cut through the thin Bible pages. A generous length is specified, too, so that the ribbons do not get lost within the pages.
Paper
Because of their length, Bibles traditionally have been printed
on thin paper to ensure compact volumes. Cambridge Bibles are printed
on paper much thinner and finer than ordinary book paper - yet also
strong and opaque, so that 'show-through' from one page to another
is minimised. Our paper buyers carefully choose the kind of paper
best suited to each Bible type and size. They balance considerations
of strength, thinness and opacity, and use only papers that meet
the highest environmental standards.
Note-taking
The wide variety of pens and markers available nowadays makes it
impossible to give an unconditional guarantee that notes written
on the Bible pages will not smudge or bleed through over time. If
using pens or markers, we suggest that you take care in your choice
of writing implement and the pressure that you apply.
 Head and tail bands
All Cambridge Bibles have the traditional 'head and tail' bands which were once used to help people take the books down from densely stocked shelves. Nowadays, they are added as a decorative item and the colours are chosen to complement the shade of leather and gilding used in the binding.
 Gilt Edges and Blocking
Many Cambridge Bibles and Prayer Books are decorated with metallic gold and silver on their covers and on the edges of their paper. The material that is used in this process gives a rich, bright and attractive finish to the book. However, care must be taken to protect the Bible or Prayer Book from rain and snow, as the metallic foil may peel when exposed to moisture.
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