Bible Leather Lingo and Its Evolution -- A Call for Honesty
A pet peeve of mine has always been intentional misrepresentation and misnomer. The old classic examples are the word "official" on a kid's baseball mitt, "limited edition" on something that has no defined limit, and "authentic" without any qualifiers.
Every field of marketing surely has its own Orwellian New Speak. In the furniture world, a piece of wooden furniture may be called "vintage walnut," "classic walnut," "walnut finish," "walnut grain," ... all of which probably mean one thing: the piece is not solid walnut.
New Speak also exists in the world of Bible manufacturing. I'm not referring to the text, though I'm sure examples could be given. I'm thinking more of the Bible covers, which is my field of craftsmanship. We commonly receive Bibles marked "Genuine ... (whatever)." I sometimes wish Bible manufacturers would just print the word "Genuine" and leave it at that.
Here are my favorites.
Genuine Bonded Leather .. sort of like saying "Genuine Particle Board." Bonded leather is a great binding for Bibles that are seldom used. It's known for disintegrating with frequent contact with human beings.
Italian Calf ... What makes it Italian? Does anybody know? Just asking.
Spanish Bonded Leather ... ???
Top Grain ... Sounds like it's the best, but it's actually considered second best when compared to "full grain." The best leathers are those that have not been skived or split, but are the full hide. "Top Grain" means that you are getting the top side of a split hide. The best hides for binding are those that are from younger and therefore smaller animals, providing a naturally thin hide. Top grain cowhide is nice enough, but you can't even necessarily assume that the words "Top Grain" on your Bible assure that it's cowhide. It only means that whatever leather they used, it was the top side of the split. At Leonard's we use calfskin rather than cowhide. (Younger vs. older.)
Genuine Berkshire... Come on -- it's pigskin. There's nothing wrong with pigskin, if you can just call it what it is. There are more than seventy hog varieties in the world. But has anyone ever heard of a Bible bound in "Chester White," a breed so popular that it has its own journal? While there are a few examples of Berkshire bindings actually being calfskin, most are pigskin, dignified with a classy British sounding name. In fact, if your Bible says "Genuine Leather" and nothing else, it's most likely pigskin. Just look under the grain closely. Do you see little tiny pores like on your own skin? If you do, you have a pigskin binding. By the way, pigskin is a very durable leather and inexpensive here in the U.S. Though there might be a few theological issues for some, we highly recommend it for its durability.
Genuine Morocco ... Last I checked, Morocco was a country, not a leather. But a few hundred years ago, someone rubbed some goatskin on a rock or a board and came up with a unique, bumpy grain. This became a preferred binding leather and was known as Morocco goatskin, presumably because it happened in Morocco. Somewhere along the line the word "goatskin" became unnecessary to describe goatskin. All that was necessary was to say, "My Bible is Morocco Bound." (Sounds like Bob Hope and Bing Crosby -- "Like Webster's Dictionary, we're Morocco-bound.")
French Morocco ... Also a country. Actually, it was someone's idea of a new kind of Morocco. And, no, it wasn't made from French goats. It was sheepskin.
Finally we come to the current state of this misnomer. A major Bible manufacturer lets on that their "French Morocco" is made of thin cowhide. I give them credit in that they at least told us what it was made of. There's nothing at all wrong with a cowhide Bible, ... just tell it like it is. However the Bible in question is not Morocco in any sense of the word. It doesn't even have a morocco grain. It looks like what is commonly called "mission grain."
To press this issue a little further, let me use buffalo wings as an illustration. Now everyone knows what buffalo wings are and are not. We know that buffalos don't fly any more than swine do. Buffalo is a misnomer for hot, and is used in conjunction with wings as in chicken wings. Twenty years ago, a person may have looked at you rather oddly if you offered them a plate of buffalo wings; today we don't bat an eye, but eat them with every expectation of tasting spicy chicken.
But what if you bit into what you thought was chicken and tasted pork? What if you took your concern to the cook and were told that, "Our buffalo wings are made from pork"? Hmmm. Maybe pigs do fly.
I really don't mean to sound judgmental. We probably have our own misnomers that folks could pick at. We advertise an Outback Bible made of genuine kangaroo from Australia. It is indeed from Australia but we really have no proof that the unfortunate creature was from the Outback region of Australia. It could very well have been bagged in Sidney. But we do our best not to misrepresent our product. It may be common practice in a fallen world, but for some reason we feel that those in the business of selling Bibles and Bible covers should be held to a higher standard. What do you think?
--Eric J. Haley
Every field of marketing surely has its own Orwellian New Speak. In the furniture world, a piece of wooden furniture may be called "vintage walnut," "classic walnut," "walnut finish," "walnut grain," ... all of which probably mean one thing: the piece is not solid walnut.
New Speak also exists in the world of Bible manufacturing. I'm not referring to the text, though I'm sure examples could be given. I'm thinking more of the Bible covers, which is my field of craftsmanship. We commonly receive Bibles marked "Genuine ... (whatever)." I sometimes wish Bible manufacturers would just print the word "Genuine" and leave it at that.
Here are my favorites.
Genuine Bonded Leather .. sort of like saying "Genuine Particle Board." Bonded leather is a great binding for Bibles that are seldom used. It's known for disintegrating with frequent contact with human beings.
Italian Calf ... What makes it Italian? Does anybody know? Just asking.
Spanish Bonded Leather ... ???
Top Grain ... Sounds like it's the best, but it's actually considered second best when compared to "full grain." The best leathers are those that have not been skived or split, but are the full hide. "Top Grain" means that you are getting the top side of a split hide. The best hides for binding are those that are from younger and therefore smaller animals, providing a naturally thin hide. Top grain cowhide is nice enough, but you can't even necessarily assume that the words "Top Grain" on your Bible assure that it's cowhide. It only means that whatever leather they used, it was the top side of the split. At Leonard's we use calfskin rather than cowhide. (Younger vs. older.)
Genuine Berkshire... Come on -- it's pigskin. There's nothing wrong with pigskin, if you can just call it what it is. There are more than seventy hog varieties in the world. But has anyone ever heard of a Bible bound in "Chester White," a breed so popular that it has its own journal? While there are a few examples of Berkshire bindings actually being calfskin, most are pigskin, dignified with a classy British sounding name. In fact, if your Bible says "Genuine Leather" and nothing else, it's most likely pigskin. Just look under the grain closely. Do you see little tiny pores like on your own skin? If you do, you have a pigskin binding. By the way, pigskin is a very durable leather and inexpensive here in the U.S. Though there might be a few theological issues for some, we highly recommend it for its durability.
Genuine Morocco ... Last I checked, Morocco was a country, not a leather. But a few hundred years ago, someone rubbed some goatskin on a rock or a board and came up with a unique, bumpy grain. This became a preferred binding leather and was known as Morocco goatskin, presumably because it happened in Morocco. Somewhere along the line the word "goatskin" became unnecessary to describe goatskin. All that was necessary was to say, "My Bible is Morocco Bound." (Sounds like Bob Hope and Bing Crosby -- "Like Webster's Dictionary, we're Morocco-bound.")
French Morocco ... Also a country. Actually, it was someone's idea of a new kind of Morocco. And, no, it wasn't made from French goats. It was sheepskin.
Finally we come to the current state of this misnomer. A major Bible manufacturer lets on that their "French Morocco" is made of thin cowhide. I give them credit in that they at least told us what it was made of. There's nothing at all wrong with a cowhide Bible, ... just tell it like it is. However the Bible in question is not Morocco in any sense of the word. It doesn't even have a morocco grain. It looks like what is commonly called "mission grain."
To press this issue a little further, let me use buffalo wings as an illustration. Now everyone knows what buffalo wings are and are not. We know that buffalos don't fly any more than swine do. Buffalo is a misnomer for hot, and is used in conjunction with wings as in chicken wings. Twenty years ago, a person may have looked at you rather oddly if you offered them a plate of buffalo wings; today we don't bat an eye, but eat them with every expectation of tasting spicy chicken.
But what if you bit into what you thought was chicken and tasted pork? What if you took your concern to the cook and were told that, "Our buffalo wings are made from pork"? Hmmm. Maybe pigs do fly.
I really don't mean to sound judgmental. We probably have our own misnomers that folks could pick at. We advertise an Outback Bible made of genuine kangaroo from Australia. It is indeed from Australia but we really have no proof that the unfortunate creature was from the Outback region of Australia. It could very well have been bagged in Sidney. But we do our best not to misrepresent our product. It may be common practice in a fallen world, but for some reason we feel that those in the business of selling Bibles and Bible covers should be held to a higher standard. What do you think?
--Eric J. Haley
www.LeonardsBooks.com
Skilled bookbinding, restoration and repair services
P.O. Box 52***Burrows, IN 46916**U.S.A.
Phone: (574) 652-2151
Skilled bookbinding, restoration and repair services
P.O. Box 52***Burrows, IN 46916**U.S.A.
Phone: (574) 652-2151
Labels: Berkshire, bonded leather, French morocco, leather lingo, morocco, top grain
posted by Eric@Leonard's | 9:05 AM
6 Comments:
This kind of naming drives me crazy! Zondervan is the worst about this top grain, italian leather, renaissance leather non-sense. Buying one of their bibles makes me feel like I need a decoder ring or something. I really appreciate transparency, not only in leathers but in other facets as well, like paper weight, material of the lining, binding, ribbon width. Ideally, we would all be able to handle a Bible before we buy it, but unless one happens to live in an exceptional town, very few bookstores sell anything mass market bonded leather and cardboard stiff genuine leather.
Thanks for your transparency. I hope to save enough pennies to have my favorite text block rebound by you!
Thanks, Ryan! We look forward to doing business with you!
To Zondervan's credit, it was the back of one of their Bibles that contained the important information about "Genuine Leather," which means pigskin, and "Top Grain," which means cowhide.
Also, we need to remember that both Bible publishing and retail sales of these publishers' products are profit driven. If we as consumers routinely settle for less, we will always find that "less" is all anyone has for sale. Ask (nicely), and you shall receive! Otherwise, nobody will want to invest in good merchandise that is never bought.
We urge you to support your local bookstores! Many of them can special-order the products you want if they're available anywhere. Otherwise, they will become ancient ruins from the Bricks and Mortar age. And you wouldn't want that!
My husband bought me a Genuine Leather nelson bible and 3 months later he purchased himself a church print bible through Bearing Precious Seed, for less money, we have had our bibles for 4years and his is used more than mine and it is still in excellent shape, mine is falling apart! I think it is sad that bibles cost as much as they do for the poor quality that you get these days. I will be sending my husbands new testament to you this week to be reboud as a gift, if I send my old bible with it could you give me a price on rebinding and repairing it!
We sure can! :-)
Take a look at our Ordering Information page for a step-by-step. We'll get back with you with our best suggestions as soon as it arrives.
Not really important, but since we're talking honesty & transparency, here..."Buffalo" is not a misnomer for "hot" when talking about Buffalo wings. The spicy sauce originated in Buffalo, NY, hence the name, "Buffalo" wings. :o)
A Hoosier transplant in Upstate NY
Thanks, Hoosier transplant! So good to know that!
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