Sangorski & Sutcliffe modernise Coronation Bible for Diamond Jubilee

Bookbinder Sangorski & Sutcliffe is producing the commemorative Diamond Jubilee Bible 60 years after creating the Coronation Bible on which Elizabeth II swore her oath as queen.

Sangorski & Sutcliffe has partnered with The Folio Society to publish the book, which is limited to 60 editions on approval of the Lord Chamberlain’s office. Each one will be numbered by hand on a special limitation page.

The two-volume set’s design is a modern update of the original Coronation creation by artist Lynton Lamb. The central lozenge from the 1952 book is repeated and rotated to create a diamond on the front and back boards of the Diamond Jubilee edition, tooled in 22-carat gold lead with onlays of fair calf leather.

30 smaller, conical diamonds cut by the binder’s gold finisher using a brass hand-tool specially created for the Jubilee edition surround each diamond.

Specially made tools used solely for the original ceremony Bible have been reinstated to embellish the binding of the Diamond Jubilee Bible with Royal Insignia and lettering finished in gold.

Sangorski & Sutcliffe, England’s oldest surviving hand bookbinding company, approached The Folio Society to publish the edition who agreed that its binding of the King King James Bible would be ideal for the commemorative Bible.

The original Bible required 32 different processes to create the prestigious product commissioned specifically for the 1952 coronation ceremony. Twenty-five copies were published.

The editions are currently in production and will be available in the next month to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 years on the throne.

Sutcliffe & Sangorski owner Robert Shepherd said: "An important commission for Sangorski &Sutcliffe was securing the contract to bind the Coronation Bible, the Bible on which the Queen was to swear her oath of allegiance to her country in 1953.

"The aim of the Jubilee Bible is to acknowledge the spirit of the original design and at the same time convey the significance and tremendous achievement of the Queen’s sixty years on the throne."