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Overview of The Saint John's Bible (Concordia University, Saint Paul)

Date post: 23-Jun-2015
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Concordia University is proud to host The Saint John's Bible Heritage Edition on campus for the 2014-15 academic year. We are able to share this work of art with our community through Saint John's University's Heritage Program. Two volumes of the Bible will be on campus for the whole year-Gospels & Acts and the Pentateuch; all seven volumes will be on campus for the month of February 2015.
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Saint John’s Bible Overview of the Heritage Edition
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Page 1: Overview of The Saint John's Bible (Concordia University, Saint Paul)

Saint John’s BibleOverview of the Heritage Edition

Page 2: Overview of The Saint John's Bible (Concordia University, Saint Paul)

The mission of The Saint John’s Bible is to ignite

the spiritual

imagination of people

around the worldof all faith journeys.

Photo courtesy of Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota. 2014

Page 3: Overview of The Saint John's Bible (Concordia University, Saint Paul)

Key Dates in the Saint John’s Bible Project• 1995 – Donald Jackson presented his lifelong dream to handwrite the

Bible to Fr. Eric Hollas, O.S.B., of Saint John’s University• 1998 – Saint John’s Abbey and University commissioned Mr. Jackson

to begin the project• 2000 – Mr. Jackson drew the first words – “In the beginning” – on Ash

Wednesday• 2011 – Donald and Mabel Jackson presented the final page of the

Bible to Saint John’s University

Page 4: Overview of The Saint John's Bible (Concordia University, Saint Paul)

Written Word• The translation is the New Revised Standard

Version (NRSV), chosen because it is used not only by Catholics but also many Protestant denominations

• The script was specifically designed by Donald Jackson to be readable, modern, and appropriately dignified for the Bible

• Six calligraphers, including Mr. Jackson, handwrote all 1,150 pages on approximately 300 sheets of calfskin vellum

• A Rabbi wrote most of the Hebrew script

• Rare Chinese black ink made in the 1890s was used for all the calligraphy

• All the script is written using a combination of quills made from goose, turkey, and swan feathers

Page 5: Overview of The Saint John's Bible (Concordia University, Saint Paul)

Art• The Bible is intentionally

multicultural and contemporary; incorporation of the double helix of DNA, images from the Hubble telescope, and textile patterns from many cultures are examples of images that place a time stamp for future generations of scholars

• Six artists, including Mr. Jackson, created over 160 major illuminations

• No two Heritage Editions are identical because many illuminations required hand treatments by the Scriptorium’s studio manager, Sarah Harris

• Vermillion, lapis lazuli, and other cakes and powdered pigments are mixed with egg and water to make colored paint that is thicker than the black ink

• The gold leaf used in the illuminations signifies the presence of the divine

• In the Wisdom books, the color silver represents wisdom; platinum was used in place of silver to avoid oxidization

• The flora and fauna depicted in the volumes are primarily indigenous to central Minnesota

Esther, Donald Jackson, Copyright 2010, The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Minnesota USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Page 6: Overview of The Saint John's Bible (Concordia University, Saint Paul)

ProductionArchival Edition• The pages of The Saint John's

Bible are made of calfskin vellum which is nearly translucent after processing

• Each piece of vellum holds four pages

• One page of handwritten text took approximately 8 to 10 hours to complete

Heritage Edition• Uncoated cotton paper was used for

its durability, vellum like weight and feel, and resistance to fading and discoloration

• A full-scale, illuminated, fine art edition, production of which was also directed by Donald Jackson

• Limited to 299 seven-volume sets as the printing plates destroyed due to deterioration from the printing process

• Each volume authenticated and initialed by Mr. Jackson

• Donald Jackson asked the print team to give the pages a vellum-look by very lightly printing the mirror image of the illuminations on adjacent pages. The goal is “to be true to the artistic intent of the original.”– Donald Jackson on the making of the Heritage Edition

The 73 books in The Saint John’s Bible are organized into the following seven volumes: Old Testament: Pentateuch, Historical Books, Psalms, Wisdom Books, ProphetsNew Testament: Gospels & Acts, Letters & Revelation

“Every step of our work is about

being true to the original”

Photo courtesy of Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota. 2014

Page 7: Overview of The Saint John's Bible (Concordia University, Saint Paul)

A project of international collaboration… • Mr. Jackson traveled from Wales to Minnesota on a regular basis to direct the Heritage Edition’s creation

• Fine book printing experts from the England and US provided invaluable direction

• Hill Museum & Manuscript Museum imaged all 1,150 original pages in ultra-high resolution

• New Hampshire’s Monadnock Paper Mills produced the cotton paper used in the Heritage Edition

• Germany’s Heidelberg Druckmaschinen AG provided the offset lithographic printing technology required for the Heritage Edition

• The offset lithographic printing and gold and silver embossing were done in Minnesota

• An Italian-based tannery supplied the custom calfskin leather used in binding the Heritage Edition

• The binding’s head and tail bands were hand-sewn in Pakistan

• All 1,150 pages for all 299 volumes are being hand-stitched and bound in Arizona

Page 8: Overview of The Saint John's Bible (Concordia University, Saint Paul)

Oops! Mistakes were dealt with in a variety of ways:

• Scraped off and corrected at the time of error

• Lines creatively added after the fact via illustration

• Discovered after completion and embraced as part of the art

Page 9: Overview of The Saint John's Bible (Concordia University, Saint Paul)

Care and Use Guidelines

Please remember:Clean, dry hands are a MUST!

No food or liquid near the volumesBe gentle while turning pages

Enjoy!

Mr. Jackson defines illumination as “the play of light on gold as one turns the page.” In order to fully appreciate the art of the Bible, you are encouraged to browse the volumes.


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