New Netherlands ESV Legacy Goatskin/Horween Compared to Chinese Heirloom and Original Netherlands

For the month of December Westminster Bookstore is offering their ESV Bibles for 50 percent off. This includes the black goatskin bibles but it doesn’t apply to the Horweens.
The ESV Legacy is one of my absolute favorite layouts that Crossway offers. It has one of the cleanest looking layouts I’ve seen. It has the advantage of a readers format because they put the subtitles in the outer margin, but the cost is font size. I consider the 9pt font fine, but I could see some thinking it is too small. It’s sort of the trade off for the outer margin, which is nice, but can be frustrating for those wanting to take notes, because it has the subtitles in the way.
I have the privilege of owning all three heirloom editions (the first Netherlands edition, the Chinese edition, and now the new Netherlands edition) and there are very distinct differences between the three. The current edition has less pebble on the goatskin grain, and a different spine design (see last three pics for an example). I definitely prefer the cleaner spine of today’s edition over the original. The goatskin is a massive (incomparably) upgrade from the Chinese edition, and honestly, the lack of pebbly grain does make it look rather elegant.
The 28gsm French Indopaque paper is a marvel. It is amazing how the opacity of this paper masks ghosting, even though it is so thin. The line matching and paragraph format is also a huge plus for this purpose as well, although that doesn’t apply to the poetry as it has a standard poetic setting. In a dream world I’d prefer the Chinese paper with the Netherlands goatskin (I know I am in the minority here), because it’s easier for me to grip and turn the pages.
Overall this is a stunning edition, and is also still available in the Horween leather. I received this bible in exchange for my fair and honest review from The Westminster Bookstore. You can order it from them at the link below. Also be looking for your Nickels Worth soon.
Note: the black goatskin Legacy and Romans Commentary was provided by Westminster Bookstore in exchange for my honest opinion.
Legacy Bible:
Black Goatskin:
www.wtsbooks.c...
Brown Horween:
www.wtsbooks.c...
Written Review on The Epistle to the Romans:
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