How the CHRIST coffee table book is made, and why it lasts

CHRIST, Mercy & Light's art book of the life of Jesus, is made to be kept: a cloth cover with the title pressed in, a sewn binding that lets it lie open, heavy matte paper, and art made for each scene beside the King James text, checked word for word. If you want one book about Jesus to leave out at home and one day hand down, it is our pick, and we made it, so weigh that.

The ten details below go into the CHRIST coffee table book, and each one can be checked with the book in your hands.

What is the CHRIST coffee table book?

The CHRIST coffee table book is an art book that tells the life of Jesus in pictures, from the prophecies of his birth to the Resurrection, with a passage of the King James Bible beside the art. It runs to about 300 pages with more than 200 illustrations, all made for this book, and the CHRIST art book's own page shows the book inside and out.

Apart from a short welcome page, the words in it are Scripture, chapter titles and the reference under each picture. It is meant to be opened anywhere, looked at for a few minutes and left open on the table.

How is the CHRIST book bound and printed?

The CHRIST book is bound and printed as an art book meant for daily handling: woven book cloth with the title blind-debossed into it, sections sewn with thread, and heavyweight matte paper.

1. A cloth cover with the title pressed in

The cover is woven book cloth with the title blind-debossed into it, so you can trace the letters with a thumb. The cloth is the finished surface, and the part your hands will know best.

2. A sewn binding that lies open

The CHRIST book is a clothbound hardcover with a thread-sewn binding that opens flat. The pages are gathered in sections and sewn through the fold, so the spine bends with the book as it opens. That is what lets a spread rest open on the coffee table without a hand or a paperweight holding it.

3. Heavy matte paper

The pages are heavyweight matte art paper, 157 gsm. Heavy pages turn cleanly and feel like an art book in the hand. The matte surface keeps lamplight from glaring off a picture in the evening.

4. A size that fills your view

At nearly 10 × 13 inches, a full spread is wide enough to take in the Sea of Galilee or a crowd on the road to Jerusalem at a glance; our guide to where Jesus lived, from Nazareth to Capernaum walks through the places that recur in its pages. It is still a book you can hold on your lap, and it lies flat on a coffee table, an ottoman or a wide shelf.

How were the art and the text in the CHRIST book checked?

The art and the text in the CHRIST book were checked against Scripture line by line: each verse against three independent King James sources, and each picture against the wording of its passage.

5. Art made for each scene

Every illustration in the CHRIST book was made for this book, so the story keeps one look from the angel at Nazareth to the empty tomb. Each scene was planned with the light its moment suggests: dawn on the lake, lamplight in a house at night, noon at Jacob's well.

6. The King James text, checked word for word

The verses in the CHRIST book are taken from the King James Version and compared verse by verse across three independent sources of the King James text. Where printings differ in a word or a spelling, the book uses the reading at least two of the three share. Every verse was pulled from those sources, never retyped.

7. The pictures follow the words

Each illustration names the passage it shows, and the details in the art are held to that passage's own wording. At Cana there are six stone waterpots, because John says "there were set there six waterpots of stone" (John 2:6, KJV). The wise men wear no crowns and find the child in a house, because Matthew writes "when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother" (Matthew 2:11, KJV). Our guide to Nativity scene paintings and what the Gospels actually say shows how often the art tradition drifts from those words.

8. The story told in order

The CHRIST book follows the life of Jesus in the order the Gospels tell it, in chapters that run from "God With Us" to "He Is Risen", between a prologue on the Word and an epilogue. Read straight through, it is the same sequence as our life of Christ told in order, event by event. Opened at random, it still tells you where you are.

What else is inside the CHRIST book?

The CHRIST book also carries a dedication page at the front and two finding aids at the back, which make it a book to give and to use for years.

9. A dedication page

Near the front is a page for who the book belongs to, who gave it and when, with room for a handwritten line. It turns a good book into a family one: a name, a date and a few words in your own hand.

10. Easy to find your way back

At the back are a list of plates and a Scripture index, so you can find a scene by its passage. A parent looking for the feeding of the five thousand, or a teacher who wants the Good Shepherd for Sunday, can turn to it in seconds.

How does the CHRIST book compare with other books about Jesus?

The CHRIST book compares most directly with the other books people keep about Jesus: a study Bible, a daily devotional, a children's Bible and a museum art book of the old masters. They answer different needs, and many homes keep more than one.

Book	What it is	Format and size	How it is made	Best for
The CHRIST book (ours)	The life of Jesus in art made for each scene, beside King James passages	Large hardcover, nearly 10 × 13 inches, about 300 pages	Cloth cover, sewn binding, heavyweight matte art paper	One book left out at home, or given to be kept
A study Bible	The whole Bible with notes, maps and cross-references	Hand size, often over a thousand pages	Thin Bible paper; binding varies by edition	Reading and study, at church and at home
A daily devotional	A short reading and reflection for each day	Small hardcover or paperback	Varies by publisher	A daily habit
A children's Bible	Bible stories retold and illustrated for children	Medium hardcover	Varies by publisher	A child's own first book
An old-masters art book	Famous paintings of Christ with art-historical commentary	Large hardcover	Varies by publisher	Readers who love art history

For a fair side-by-side with named books, see our seven Christian coffee table books about Jesus, compared. For reading beyond the art, our list of books about Jesus worth reading covers biographies and classics. If you are weighing Alabaster's Bible books against ours, our comparison of Alabaster books and Mercy & Light books sets out who each one suits. Buying for a man, our guide to coffee table books for men and how each one is made sets the CHRIST book beside nine others.

Who is the CHRIST book not for?

The CHRIST book is not the right book for everyone, and it is better said plainly.

• If you want study notes, commentary or cross-references, choose a study Bible; the CHRIST book carries the text and the art, without explanation.
• If you read a modern translation, it may feel unfamiliar; every verse is the King James Version.
• If you want something to carry to church, it is too large; it is made to stay at home.

How do you care for a clothbound book?

A clothbound book like the CHRIST book lasts longest out of direct sun and away from heat and damp; the Library of Congress advises keeping books cool, relatively dry and out of bright light.

• Keep it away from a sunny window; light fades cloth.
• Lay it flat on the table or shelf; a large book left leaning slumps over time.
• Lift it by gripping the spine at its middle, never by tugging at the top, as the Library of Congress also recommends for handling books, and turn pages with clean, dry hands.
• Dust the cover with a dry, soft cloth.

Frequently asked

Is the CHRIST book a good gift for someone who values well-made books?

Yes, that is the reader we made it for. Our pick is CHRIST, Mercy & Light's art book of the life of Jesus, for its cloth cover, sewn binding that lies open, heavy matte paper and checked King James text. A well-bound King James Bible suits someone who wants the whole text, and an old-masters art book suits someone who loves art history.

Which Bible translation does the CHRIST art book use?

The CHRIST book uses the King James Version throughout. Every verse is compared across three independent sources of the King James text, and where printings differ the book uses the reading at least two of them share.

How big is the CHRIST coffee table book?

The CHRIST book measures nearly 10 × 13 inches and runs to about 300 pages, with more than 200 illustrations. It is a large-format art book that still opens comfortably on a lap.

Will the CHRIST book stay open on a table by itself?

Yes. The CHRIST book is a clothbound hardcover with a thread-sewn binding that opens flat, so a spread rests open on a table without being held. There is no need to press the spine down to make it stay.

Is the CHRIST book a Bible or an art book?

The CHRIST book is an art book of the life of Jesus that prints selected King James passages beside each scene. It does not contain the whole Bible, so it sits well beside the Bible you already read.

Whoever ends up with it, the hope is the same: a book left out where people sit, opened on an ordinary evening, and one day handed on with a name already written in the front. Our other books sit together in the Mercy & Light books collection.

Passages cited: John 2:6; Matthew 2:11