The folks over at Trinitarian Bible Society were kind enough to send me a copy of their Slimline Pocket New Testament for review. It has been a while since I’ve written a review of one of the Bibles they produce. I thought it would be a good time to take a look at a very affordable, and lightweight New Testament. This New Testament is shipped in minimal packaging. It was in a sleeve and wrapped with clear plastic. The pictures on TBS’ site look a bit browner than in reality.
The color is burgundy just like the site states. It is a two-tone cover with the darker color on the bottom. There is one ribbon marker that matches the burgundy of the cover.
The front cover has, “New Testament” pressed into it. The perimeter of the cover is stitched down. Since the spine is so narrow, there is no writing on it.
The inner liner is white pasted down paper which joins the text block to the cover. The spine is sewn.
The page edges are gold gilt. I did encounter a bit of a problem when opening this New Testament. The pages stuck together. I ended up tearing the front page while trying to separate the pages. I wasn’t careful enough. This volume indicates that it is printed in Great Britain by Eyre & Spottiswoode H.M. Printers, Cambridge University Press Cambridge. The paper is fine, and very light weight. It is opaque enough to not cause eye strain. The 8 point font is large enough to be of use, but small enough to keep the size of this New Testament down.
If you are considering a slimline pocket New Testament, I assume the primary features you are looking for are light weight and portability. This edition is one of the lightest New Testaments I have owned. It is also one of the slimmest. I forget that it is on my person while I am carrying it. I have had some New Testaments that are shorter and thus also thicker. Even though they fit into a pocket, it is evident to me that I am carrying one. This is so light and thin that it doesn’t cause my jacket to wear as if it is burdened. From outward appearances, it would be almost impossible to see that I was carrying it.
If I had to pick my other favorite feature of this edition, it would be the inclusion of a KJV wordlist. There are some English words that have gone out of use since the publishing of the KJV Bible. Peradventure you purchase this edition, you’ll encounter this, and observe that it is commodious to your reading. If you’d like to look at the rest of the pictures of this Bible I took please visit my flickr album.
Here is the product page for the Slimline Pocket New Testament (Vivella) – Burgundy [65E] This page has some of the measurements and other specifications I may have left out.
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