The paper is made in New Hampshire, the leather is Italian, the printing is done on a German press in Minnesota, the book’s headband is handmade in Pakistan: and finally, it’s all bound together in Arizona. And the materials come from around the world. Arizona State University has a copy, according to Roswell. There’s a heritage edition at the Library of Congress and the Vatican. John's Bible is printed on a German press in Minnesota and originally commissioned by St. The idea is that there are institutions around the world that, mainly through donors, have acquired these sets.' 'And that's why these heritage editions were made which were also created under the direction of Donald Jackson. And how do you reach the world from Collegeville, MN?' Triggs said. 'The mission of this project is to ignite the spiritual imagination of people around the world. The project was art-directed by celebrated calligrapher Donald Jackson. Triggs said the original is meant to evoke the same feeling as ancient Bible texts, hand-scribed by Benedictine monks before the printing press was invented. 'It took way longer than anybody thought and cost a lot more than anybody thought, but we’ve had people quote that the heritage edition is most beautiful book they’ve ever seen,' Triggs said. John's oversees the program that led to the printed heritage editions bound here in Phoenix. The original Bible, hand-scribed by six different calligraphers with original paintings on calfskin vellum pages, is in Collegeville, Minnesota, at St. John's Bible, pictured here and illuminated. A limited number of these sets will be produced. It was the size of a large portrait painting and is one of seven volumes in a set. 'This is Italian calfskin, the boards are birch, these are genuine silver clasps,' he said. He gently lifts out the crimson leather-bound and gold-stamped tome inside. Mike opened up a cardinal-red box at the top of a stack. Roswell Bookbinding does a lot of work with Bibles, including the binding of one very special Bible in particular: the St. 'I've been here for 15 years, and I'm still learning.'Īhmadi is also working on a Bible made in the 1600s that is missing a cover. Every restoration is different,' she said. 'It’s like a haircut, you go to a salon, you want different things, books are the same.

'When they come pick it up, they’re very happy. “Restoration is my favorite part because I’m restoring people’s history and family heirlooms and everything,' she said. She replaced the spine and the end papers. Raqiba Ahmadi is working on a rare edition of Dante’s 'Inferno.' “They don’t brag, but they’re artists,” he said. Roswell Bookbinding does restoration of Bibles and heirloom books like this version of Dante's 'Inferno.' That business dwindled with the rise of the internet. They would repair periodicals out of their garage. Their clients were the Phoenix Public Library and university libraries. Roswell’s parents started the company in the 1960s. A lot of cases it’s still easier for us to use a 200-year-old book press than a high power, automatic machine.' 'So we have all these different machines and process for different quantities and sizes. 'We’ll do a run of five copies, or eight copies, but we also do tens of thousands of copies,' Roswell said.

Some were a couple hundred years old and those, along with the state of the art automated machines, still get used today. It was one of the many machines adding to the din of the 50,000-square-foot warehouse his business resides in. Roswell had an original, 75-year-old Smyth sewer, too.

Because a guy named Joseph Smyth invented this process a couple hundred years ago,' he said. “The generic term for this is Smyth sewing. Mike Roswell, president of Roswell Bookbinding, explained.

Roswell bookbinding reggy