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Arion Bible project

Comments on the binding of the Arion Press Bible

The Arion Press Bible is the first large folio presentation of the contemporary translation of the New Revised Standard Version. It is intended for liturgical use in church services as well as for the collections of individuals and libraries. It was designed by Arion Press publisher Andrew Hoyem.

The text is printed by letterpress on English mouldmade paper. Designed for ease of reading from a lectern, the text is set in Romulus, a type of graceful lines and clarity of character recognition. The format is 18 by 13 inches, 1,356 pages. The work was completed in 2000.

The University of Iowa Library purchased the Arion Press Bible. The UI copy was acquired unbound and the binding was done in the conservation lab of the preservation department. The binding was completed in the fall of 2001. This project was supported from the William Anthony Fund and was named the Julie Scott and Jim Fluck conservation treatment for the year, 2001.

The UI /Arion Bible is divided into New and Old Testament volumes. The publisher's suggested two volume division is at the midway position as indicated by a second volume titlepage. But, the Old Testament actually comprises almost 3/4ths of the pages as compared with 1/4 needed for the New Testament Gospels. The UI binding divides with the Old and New Testament portions and this initial asymmetry suggested a theme for the binding project. It was decided to differentiate the bindings of the two volumes in various other ways beyond their differences in numbers of pages.

the binding project

The New Testament was bound using methods and structure associated with the earliest codex binding in an era when books, both scrolls and codices, were made of papyrus. Use of this model is quite appropriate since the codex format was enthusiastically adopted by sectarians who subsequently became identified as Christians. The features of Coptic binding and the papyrus book that are illustrated by the New Testament Arion Bible binding include chain stitch sewing onto hand spun flax thread and inner board openings with papyrus cartennage and endleaf. Other features include Coptic style endbands and a double cover of an underlying sewn board cover and outer wrapper cover.

The Old Testament was bound using methods and structure associated with 16th century European bookbinding at the end of the era of books bound between wooden boards. The text is sewn on seven double cords as well as onto additional endband cords. A primary stitching secures the endbands through the folds of the text while a secondary stitching of colored threads provides the decorative effect. The finishing includes blind tooling of both boards and spine, accentuated by an underlying strapwork relief. The leather used is calfskin.

The first contrast produced by these different binding styles is that the Old Testament is in the "new" binding and the New Testament is in the "old" binding. Further the older style is arguably more modern than the later one. Other contrasts include different decorative styles, structural actions and book uses.

For example, the foredge markers in the Old Testament indicate mentions of the word "book". A web based search engine called the unbound Bible listed these instances. Electronic access to book content promises to dissolve the classical bibliographical entity by directing the reader, not to the physical book, but to the single chapter, verse or word. But the markers in the Arion Bible evidence the physical finding and reading of verses in-situ in this large, lectern volume.

Likewise, the binding of the New Testament suggests the timeless modernity of the papyrus book prototype. In turn this prompts examination of cultural preferences between shiny new objects and older, used and dingy objects. Do we prefer a new copy to an old original? The binding of the New Testament is a facsimile that superficially represents the real evidence of its existence as archeologically recovered debris.

The binding of the Arion Bible is intended to illustrate the continuing role of the church service book as a mechanism of cultural transmission. The bindings of the two volumes contrast exemplars from the history of binding while invitations to the openings and excerpts of scripture remind us of cycles of veneration and neglect of liturgical goods.

11.19.01/glf