Since 1865, only one artist has attempted to illustrate every book of the Bible by himself: Barry Moser. Over the course of four years, Moser crafted 232 wooden engravings for his Pennyroyal Caxton edition of the King James Bible, which was published in 1999.
After all of his labor, a limited number of Bibles were published in their intended, two-volume format. One of these rare Bibles was donated by Bruce and Suzie Kovner in spring 2015 and can be found in the St. Joe’s Archives Collection, located in the Drexel Library.
Barry Moser is an artist and professor who has illustrated over 300 books from a variety of genres including classics such as “Dracula” and children’s books such as “Cat Talk” by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest.
Moser created at least one original illustration for each of the 80 books of the King James Bible. What started off as wooden engravings were turned into black-and-white prints consisting of bold outlines filled in with vertical lines. The images range from depictions of memorable scenes to profiles of important characters.
Moser told The Hawk that his brief stint as a Methodist preacher during his college years influenced his decision to illustrate the Bible.
“Had I not taken up that line of work when I did, I probably would not have read the KJV [King James Version of the Bible] and would not have fallen in love with it,” Moser said. “Even when I fell away from the church, my love of that text never failed me.”
While large versions of the Moser Bibles, like the ones in the St. Joe’s collections, are rare, smaller printed versions of the Bible are readily available on Amazon for around $55. According to Lesley Carey, St. Joe’s archivist, the set in the archives is valued at $350. On the other hand, a Bible that was signed by Moser himself is selling elsewhere for $12,500.
“I feel pride in having done it, and done it in a highly respectful, and, I think, beautiful way,” Moser said. “You could almost say it was devotional because I was nothing if not devoted to the work.”
