Bible Design

Way back on May 29th I said I had pre-ordered the ESV Study Bible in Goatskin Calfskin.
Edit: I had originally said it was Goatskin. J. Mark Bertrand corrected me on this and I note that it is Calfskin. So I've made the appropriate modifications!
Today I want to review it.
Unboxing the ESVSB in Goatskin Calfskin
This afternoon the badly beat up cardboard mailer arrived. So I promptly opened her up, but suddenly remembered I should shoot some photo's.
That's all well and good however the only camera available was the pathetic doohickey on my Treo. After a wayward glance to my broken digital camera (thrice dropped by my daughters) I grabbed my cellphone and started shooting.
Thus I beg that you will pardon the poor image quality.

Quite awhile back on Bible Design and Binding: Cambridge Wide Margin Reference Bible (NASB) I read the following

Like trying to hold water in my hands ... that's what my first experience with the Cambridge Wide Margin Reference Bible was like. I expected the goatskin cover to be flexible, but this was ridiculous. Ridiculously good, that is. Wherever it wasn't supported by my hand, this Bible gracefully plunged toward the floor, almost like it was wet. I half expected it to be dripping, but of course it wasn't. That's the illusion a fine, flexible binding can give. Though the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the translation featured in this edition, is often described as "wooden," this wide-margin felt anything but. It was the best Cambridge binding I've ever witnessed, and one of the best Bibles I've ever handled, period...

He was right.

I went ahead and ordered This Bible (Amazon link) and I'm so glad I did. It arrived today and with trembling hands I opened the box on the most expensive Bible I've ever owned. It smelled wonderful! The pages are beautifully art gilt. Both black ribbons are the right length and have the right feel that they should have for a Bible of this size. Nothing about this bible feels like it shouldn't.

Note:The original article actually disappeared and I've managed to partially reconstruct it below. I'm still looking in to the cause.

As you may recall, quite some time ago I was moaning about my bible falling apart. I do have a plan to pull out all the stops and rebind it myself. Sure I could have it rebound but I want to learn about the process, about quality and just plain about doing it right. So I've started wondering what doing it right means.
I've also been dreaming about making my own Scholars Bible.
Can you imagine the joy of reading a well designed bible in multicolumn format:

Of course it would be a behemoth wouldn't it. To make matters worse I've started reading the Bible Design and Binding Bible Blog and now I have a whole host of additional requirements to add, several started with A Bible Reader's Manifesto and then grew from some of my own desires.

1. Quality construction please.  I'm tired of bibles that fall apart after only a year.  Yes that is partly my fault.  But then I think I'm done buying bibles off the $10 rack.
2. Sewn bindings which lay flat when the Bible is Open, and not just at Psalm 127, how about laying flat at Genesis 1 and Revelation 22 as well?