For They Know not What They Print

For They Know not What They Print

birnbaum 06 May 2014 11:32

The old Bible book in the digital age sometimes matures strange fruits and these fruits produce even stranger results.
It's known for quite some time that universities and renowned libraries digitize even Bibles which at times can be a windfall for collectors to load them on e-book readers or tablets.
Such a lucky chance proved to be a Psalm book from the early 20th century translated by Kaufman Kohler and published by the Jewish Publication Society. Archive.org had it digitized and I loaded it down - just to find out, after some doubts had grown, that an anonymous KJV text had been digitized instead by mistake. Frustration lasted until unexpectedly this Kohler- title was being offered as a physical book by a Publisher (ReInk Books) from India as a reprint item. Without hesitating I ordered this paperback for a reasonable price (€ 22.-, or c. $ 30.-). About three weeks later I opened the package - just to find out that the very anonymous KJV Psalms (Temple Bible) pdf-file, digitized by g000gle had been printed and wrapped in a Kohler- titled cover. Disappointed and disillusioned I was, you bet!
So be warned and advised: Don't judge the inside of a book from looking at the outward appearance! Before you buy a digitized old print from India (or elsewhere), make sure to search within the various Digital- Book reproducers in the internet (whatever they call themselves) for the title and check the text carefully! I discovered not a few poor and faulty scanned books, incomplete ones and even the old KJV disguised as a JPS title in a made-up poor jacket. Proof here! Even worse: The Indian non- Jewish Englishman is still for sale at ´alibris`- books: For they know not what they print …

From left: ❶ Cover of "Kohler" Psalms Book; ❷ Inside: "The Temple Bible" KJV title with reprinter's book-ID; ❸ (coloured) title scanned from Archive.org; in this paperback it is reproduced in b&w.

Last edited on 11 May 2014 14:48 by birnbaum Show more