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.

1. Saint John’s Bible
Overview of the Heritage Edition

2. The mission of
The Saint John’s
Bible is to ignite the
spiritual
imagination of
people
around the world
of all faith journeys.
Photo courtesy of Saint John’s University, Collegeville,Minnesota. 2014

3. 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

4. Written Word

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

6. Production
The 73 books in The Saint John’s Bible are organized into the following seven volumes:
Old Testament: Pentateuch, Historical Books, Psalms, Wisdom Books, Prophets
New Testament: Gospels & Acts, Letters & Revelation
• 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
• 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.”
Photo courtesy of Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota. 2014
“Every step of our work is about
being true to the original”

7. 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

8. 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

9. Care and Use Guidelines
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.
Please remember:
Clean, dry hands are a MUST!
No food or liquid near the volumes
Be gentle while turning pages
Enjoy!