The Cambridge Concord Wide Margin Reference Edition

A review of the Cambridge Concord Wide Margin Reference Bible in black calf split leather (ISBN 9781107696013), KJ764:XM. (To see this Bible compared to the R.L. Allan 5WM, click here:    • Concord vs Allan KJV Wide Margin Bibles   .)

This King James Version (KJV) Bible contains only the 66 books of the Protestant canon. The text is laid out in two columns divided into verses. Page-ordered references and text and translation notes, six points in height, are located in the center column. The text is not cluttered with raised characters that indicate which words or phrases in the text each reference relates to. Their absence improves the readability of the text, but makes using the references more challenging.

The font in the text is 8.71 points in height (somewhat smaller than in the standard Concord, which has a 9.27 pt font).

The text block is sewn. This calf split edition has a paste-down construction with a coated paper liner. The pages lie open and flat in Genesis. The wide inner margin keeps the text on the flat portion of the page, far from the gutter.

The margins are as follows:
Top - 22 to 24 mm
Inner - as much as 33 mm
Outer - 33 to 34 mm
Bottom - 35 to 37 mm.

The paper is relatively opaque and nearly matte. The advertised paper weight is 38 gsm.

This KJV Bible includes both the Epistle Dedicatory and the Translators to the Readers. In the back of the volume, one finds a short glossary of terms that have changed meaning or fallen out of use since the KJV was first published, a lengthy concordance, blank pages that one can use to build an index to the notes he writes in the Bible, 64 lined pages for note taking (heavy paper), a map index, and fifteen color maps on non-glossy paper. The maps do not disappear into the gutter.

The Bible comes with two black, double satin ribbon markers, 6 mm wide and 33 to 24 cm long. Page edges are covered in gold. Head and tail bands are red and yellow.

00:00 Introduction
03:10 Page layout
04:00 Margins
04:38 More on layout
05:53 Center column references
07:53 More on layout
09:21 Print quality
10:27 Font size (wide margin vs standard reference)
12:13 Paper qualities
13:28 Glossary
14:04 Concordance
14:34 Index to notes
15:26 Lined paper
15:47 Map index and maps
17:08 Paste-down liner, ribbons, etc.
18:24 It lies open and flat
19:48 The cover and gilt page edges
20:49 Title and copyright pages
22:55 Epistle dedicatory and translators to the readers
23:57 Font comparisons
26:31 The KJV as a translation
29:33 Closing remarks