Books in Brief

The Washburn College Bible

King James Text, Modern Phrased Version (Oxford University Press, 1980) 1808 pp. $65.00

This is the ultimate in family Bibles. Published by Oxford University Press in conjunction with Washburn College, protected by a sturdy slipcase decorated with a full color detail from Michelangelo’s Creation, illustrated with 66 full color photographs of religious masterpieces chosen by National Gallery of Art Director J. Carter Brown, bound in red cloth with gold stamping and gilded top edge, and hallowed by the solemnal cadences of the King James Version, this ten-pound, oversize Bible provides a suitable repository for time-honored records of family events. Four pages are provided for family inscriptions of personal history.

The original limited edition of the Washburn College Bible was printed in only 398 sets and sells for $3,500. As the preface to this more modest edition tells us, this “was too costly for the widow’s mite.” So this edition was created to sell for $65, less than 2% of the more expensive edition. But that’s still $65.

After reading the staff-prepared review printed above, BAR’s art director, Robert Sugar wrote the following counter-review. He then re-designed the issue to make room for his own persuasively argued opinions, proving once again that he is a man of many talents.