4 reviews for Schuyler Personal Size Canterbury KJV Black Goatskin Bible

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   redwards (verified owner) – April 7, 2018

   Absolutely gorgeous! This is my fourth Schuyler Bible purchase, and the first one in the Personal Size. (I previously purchased two (2) ESV Quentels (one in Imperial Blue goatskin for myself, and one in Dark Brown for my wife), and a NKJV Quentel in Firebrick Red goatskin. I’ve reviewed the first two; I’ll review the third one shortly.) Even though I primarily now use the ESV, the KJV offers an elegance that’s not to be found anywhere else. In effect, even its non-poetic passages come across as “elevated prose”, and for me, there are just times when I want to get away by myself and read the Biblical text in a loftier form of English. For me, it just elevates my worship experience.
   So early on, I knew I wanted a get a KJV version, (the earlier purchased NKJV gives me a comparative text to the ESV), and I loved what I saw in the Canterbury. The big question for me was whether or not to go ahead and go with the regular-sized KJV Canterbury, or wait until the Personal-Sized ones came out. In essence, both are pretty similar. The chief differences reside with the size, and the fact that the Personal-Sized version does not contain a concordance. That said, the Personal-Sized one IS a red letter edition. Aside from a slightly smaller font size (8.5 point in the Personal-Sized version vs. 11 point in the regular-sized version) and slightly thinner paper (28 GSM in the Personal vs. 36 GSM in the Regular), they’re essentially identical – down to the same pagination. SO, after further deliberation, and realizing that my primary use of this Bible would be to go out into a quiet, peaceful place in the country to read, meditate, pray, and just worship (vs. reading/semi-studying), I opted to go with the Personal-Sized Canterbury. I’d already made a decision on the choice of color. I love blue (my favorite color), and I knew the Canterbury would be beautiful in the Imperial Blue color with the dark red accents. But I already have an Imperial Blue ESV. So I quickly settled on the Black goatskin, and I’m glad that I did. The dark red liner, ribbons, red accents, red-under-gold gilt, and red letter text for the words of Christ make this an absolutely stunning, beautiful Bible!! Aesthetically, I couldn’t be more pleased. Size-wise, the Personal-Sized version is perfect for carrying/reading for contemplative worship: not too small; not too big. I was a little concerned about the font size. (The ESV Study Bible I use has 9 point font for the text, and is usable, but I’d probably prefer larger, and I’ve grown very fond of the 11 point font in the regular-sized Quentels.) But my apprehension has been assuaged; the 8.5 font is VERY legible due to the crisp, clear printing and the Milo type font, so that concern has been put to rest. How about the paper? Well, it is (to me anyway) noticeably thinner, but not in a bad way. Others have commented that it feels “silk-like”, and I would readily agree. There’s definitely a different feel when turning the pages of this Bible. IT IS THIN, but it also feels strong, and not easily susceptible to tearing. The print is crisp and clear, and the red accents used throughout along makes for an absolutely beautiful text block. The ornamental drop caps are intricate and bring a sense of elegance to the text, and the use of red letter for the words of Christ is not (to me anyway) overly intrusive. In fact, I like this feature. The red is more of a “cranberry red” (vs. a bright red), so it’s neither garish, nor hard on the eyes. There is a slight degree of ghosting, but the line-matching helps to minimize this, and I’ve got no problems with it. I like the fact that Schuyler has included the Epistle Dedicatory and Translator to the Readers, as well as a glossary of King James terms. These are both interesting, and the latter should prove to be quite helpful on occasion for deciphering the meaning of those more obscure words. How about the omission of the concordance? Well, yes, it would have been nice to have it – especially considering the fact that the Canterbury KJV version of the concordance includes some somewhat biographical features for entries associated with Biblical personages. But, that said, the common complaint of all Schuyler concordances is that they use too small of a font, so I would think this problem would be even more exacerbated if they tried to scale down the regular-sized concordance to a Personal-Sized one. So, factoring that in, I’m not really distressed that this version doesn’t have one. (After all, I’ve got one for each of my other regular-sized Quentels.) The map set is the same as what’s found in the regular-sized versions, only scaled down to fit the Personal-Size format. The quality of construction is superb. From what I can tell, mine looks to be flawless. The red-under-gold gilt is much more pronounced than earlier versions (or what I’ve seen with my regular-sized Dark Brown ESV and Firebrick Red NKJV – both of which have more of a salmon-colored red under the gold), and I’ve confirmed with Evangelical Bible this is because Schuyler has intentionally intensified the “redness” of the red-under-gold gilt by spraying it twice. This is a welcome improvement as it helps to make this Bible – as well as it’s regular-size counterpart – “pop” in this area. In short, this Bible is simply stunning in appearance, feel, readability, and quality.
   In summary, it has exceeded my expectations on all counts, and I have nothing negative to say about it. It is absolutely magnificent! Even the “new Bible smell” exudes perfection!
   If you are thinking about purchasing a quality KJV version of the Bible, you can’t go wrong with the Schuyler KJV Canterbury. The biggest question for you will likely be the same as it was for me: Regular-size or Personal-Size? And that’s one you’ll have to answer depending upon how you envision using this Bible. But truthfully, I don’t believe you can go wrong either way; this is simply an outstanding Bible, and one that should easily last for a lifetime, and that would make an excellent heirloom to pass along to children or grandchildren.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   conrad carter (verified owner) – April 7, 2018

   I received my personal sized KJV Canterbury and am very happy with how this volume presents itself. The more perfect a Volume becomes the greater the tendency to pick at the tiny things but the only ‘thing’ I have is that the marginal notes have been left out. I wish that were not the case, for as one looks at a fire seeing the tiny flames separate then disappear so too for me have been the helpfulness of these notes.
   Onward, we’ll see how it holds up over the next year.
   Many thanks to Schuyler for bringing this Bible forward. I would definitely buy it again.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Frederick Littlefield (verified owner) – April 17, 2018

   I already have the Full-size Schuyler Canterbury Bible in Black Goatskin. It is a wonderful bible easy to read and quality built. When I heard that a personal-sized bible was in the making I immediately ordered one thinking that it would be good but not as good as the full sized Canterbury. This personal-sized Canterbury Bible is perfect. It has the same quality and feel, but lighter and smaller than the full sized Bible. I love this Bible. It is easier and more practical to carry around. The only problem is because of its size the font is smaller and not as easy on the eyes to read. This is not a problem if your eyes are in good shape. This Bible deserves an A+, 5 out of 5 stars., Thanks Schuyler and Evangelical Bible.
   I have bought 5 of these Canterbury Bibles and given them to people I Love. I have never been disappointed in any of them. When people say why pay so much for a Bible? I say why would you pay so much for an iPhone? If it is important you will pay good money for something that will last a lifetime and the Bible is no exception. It is truly an investment in Salvation.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Nelson Hollins (verified owner) – May 17, 2018

   Page 868 has the lovely ornamental first letter ‘P’ , covering 4 lines. And it is nice that these 150 drawings throughout the Psalms are placed slightly above the 1st line.
   Page 870 shows the ornamental covering 5 lines, & these are level with the 1st line.
   My Review of the Personal Canterbury Bible in Green Calfskin, shows some other features of these most excellent best Bibles available today !
   To keep this Bible like new , it is kept in the Schuyler box ; & then the box inside a wooden Bible cedar chest. No dust allowed you see !
   Somehow Schuyler has far surpassed, all Allan & Cambridge & everybody else who tries to build KJV Bibles !