Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Coping the King James Bible By Hand


That's what a man in New York did. It took him awhile.

From a story on Jacket Copy...

In 2007, Patterson's longtime partner, Mohammed, told him about the Islamic tradition of writing out the Koran by hand. When Patterson said that the Bible was too long for Christianity to have a similar tradition, Mohammed said, well, he should start it. 

"I hadn't counted on the fact that it would be so beautiful," Patterson told the AP. "Or that it would be so exhilarating. And so long."

Although counts disagree, according to most sources, the King James Bible has 788,000 words or more. 

Patterson uses sheets of 19-by-13-inch watercolor paper for his task, which he rules by hand with pencil lines. Sitting at a desk by his bed, he tracks the page of his hardcover Bible with one hand, and writes, using felt-tip pens, with the other. When the page is finished, he erases the pencil lines, leaving black ink on a clear white page.

At first, Patterson used to work 14-hour days on the project, and he still works until he can no longer stay awake, usually about six to eight hours a day. 

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