Book of mormon first printing

But the better procedure is to test this statement against what we have been able to discover about the printing of. The ten most expensive mormon books meridian magazine. Undoubtedly this 26 june 1829 version reflects the punctuation and paragraphing that had already been determined for the first printing of the book of mormon. But among the many recorded miracles, including an angel revealing where golden plates were buried and special interpreters being used so that they could be translated by the gift and power of god, to my knowledge the actual printing of the first edition of the book of mormon passed almost without comment among church historians until recently.

You will notice see figure 3 in the reproduction of the title page in the first edition 1830 that the wording, the essential. Printers manuscript of the book of mormon, circa august. Therefore, the text is an exact photographic reproduction of the first edition of the book of mormon, and the handwriting shows the changes that would have to be made in the text to bring it into conformity. Grandins print shop to print the book was signed on tue 25 aug 1829, and the completed book was on sale by fri 26 march 1830. The original manuscript is the dictated manuscript the scribes wrote down as joseph smith translated the book of mormon. One of the most frequent mistakes in the first edition of the book of mormon is the use of the word was instead of the word were. The book of mormon and the growth of printing in america. Today, the building in which the book of mormon was first published and sold is known as the book of mormon historic publication site. First edition book of mormon history moons rare books. The wonderful crandall historical printing museum in provo, utah, undertook in january 20 to reenact the original printing of the book of mormon. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of. Title page of the first edition of the book of mormon 1830. Even before the first finished copies of the book of mormon became available on march 26, 1830, solomon chamberlain preached from loose pages in canada and thomas b.

The first book of mormon was published in 1830, where 5,000 copies were printed by e. Id like to show a few pictures and a video about that trip and the very complicated process of. Printing paper used in the first editions of the book of mormon was a softer, machinedmade paper that did not need moistening. Dingers significant textual changes in the book of mormon. Check out joyce kosofskys antiques roadshow appraisal of this 1830 book of mormon first printing from dallas, hour 1. Below is an actual photo of the first book which arrived via fedex from the printer on 9718. In a descriptive bibliography of the mormon church, peter crawley states that, the 1841 edition is an important link in the genealogy of the book of mormon. Shelf wear and rubbing to the spine edges and corners. My greatgreatgrandfather received it in massachusetts and brought it out west through missouri and finally. John gilberts 1892 account of the 1830 printing of the. In recent years, interest has soared in firstedition mormon documents, as have the prices paid at auction. The seven months it took to print the book of mormon is well documented.

The book of mormon historic publication site is a historic site located in the village of palmyra, wayne county, new york, united states. Early on, joseph smith convinced 1 martin harris that together they would make money publishing the book of mormon. The book of mormon was first published and sold at the bookstore of e. To a book collector the phrase first edition refers to a book that was released during the first printing of the first edition they call this book a 1st1st. The initial printing of the book of mormon in 1830 produced 5000 copies. Beautiful working replica of the original eb grandin acorn printing press that was used to print the first book of mormon. After comparing the first edition of the book of mormon with the 1964 edition we marked the changes on the photocopies of the 1830 edition. Good with lightly bumped and rubbed edges, mushy spine, and a short closed tear in head of backstrip. The prophet joseph smith made several visits to newspaper editors and publishers prior to the printing. Earlier this year, we went to palmyra new york to see early mormon history. The first printed edition compared to the manuscripts and to the subsequent major lds english printed editions and that there was to be. How to identify first editions or a first printing of a book. In it, he reports many interesting details of the printing work, including the fact that it was he who punctuated the book of mormon. Grandin printed and sold the first copies of the book of mormon.

Their plan for a first printing of 5,000 copies of the book of mormon was ambitious. But the better procedure is to test this statement against what we have been able to discover about the printing of the first edition of the book of mormon. These results yield strong statistical evidence that the wordprints of joseph smith, oliver cowdery, and solomon spaulding are not measurable in the book of mormon. Marsh carried the books message back to his home in boston. The incredible story of the first printing of the book of mormon. Explore the connections in this period between religion and print culture. The first edition of the book of mormon was published more than 185 years ago. The oilbased ink used in printing at the time made better imprints when the paper was slightly moistened, which added the timely step of drying before a sheet could be flipped over to print on the reverse side.

On july 11, 20, i was surprised to get an email from a community of christ colleague informing me that the smithpettit foundation was publishing john s. Grandins printing office in the evenings and on sundays, palmyra. In every set comparing the book of mormon texts against these three writers, at least seven and often many more rejections were measured. The lord brought forth the book of mormon at a period of time when printing methods would enhance its distribution far and wide, church president thomas s. Mormon doctrine by mcconkie, first edition abebooks. The following are extracts from the first edition of the book of mormon in which the word was has been changed in later editions to were. Smith himself, having failed to sell the of his book to others, escaped the consequences of this disaster by getting his father out of debtors prison and. Hyrum smith was a common laborer, and worked for anyone as he was called on.

I know this has been refuted before, but can you help me understand this issue and get to the bottom of it. For example, as soon as the first edition was out, the readers could not avoid noticing many typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors. The book of mormon was published in march 1830 in palmyra, new york, under the direction of printer egbert b. Understanding the process of publishing the book of mormon. The book of mormon historic publication site is a historic site located in the village of palmyra. The incredible story of the first printing of the book of. Collecting the book of mormon by joseph, smith first edition. Hyrum took up one of the papers and discovered that the man was printing the book of mormon by piecemeal.

Go behind the printing of the first edition of the book of. The printing of the book of mormon would seem like a mundane process, undeserving of special attention. Organized in 1830, the church had recently issued february 2000 the one hundred millionth copy of the book of mormon, the volume that has been central to. Modernday printing presses now enable the church to print and distribute many millions of copies of the book of mormon each year. Weights booklet miracle on palmyras main street claims that the rate at which the first edition of the book of mormon was printed could only have occurred miraculously. The 1841 printing was a faithful reprint of the 1837 kirtland edition. Id like to show a few pictures and a video about that trip and the very complicated process of typesetting and printing the first book of mormon. Book of mormon printing history showcased in storied provo. The first published text from the book of mormon was the title. A fine and rare partiallyrestored copy of the 1830 first edition of the book of mormon. Another testament of jesus christ official edition by smith, joseph and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.

To print the book, grandin used a smith improved printing press, which had first appeared on the market about 1821 and was the most uptodate press available to the small printer of the day. The complete book of mormon, consisting of the first book of nephi, second book of nephi, book of jacob, book of enos, book of jarom, book of omni, the words of mormon, book of mosiah, book of alma, book of helaman, third nephi, fourth nephi, book of mormon, book of ether, book of moroni. To print five thousand copies of the first edition of the book of mormon, the printer would have needed at least 185,000 sheets of paper, not counting any mistakes or extras. A popular book may have had dozens of additional printings causing its first printing to be the most valuable. Complete payment was due within 18 months from the start of printing. Page, which was printed in the wayne sentinel of 26 june 1829, an item probably obtained from. From our modern day perspective, it seems that the printing of the book of mormon would be an obvious success, but the true history varies greatly from the popular lds narrative. I have heard that joseph smith plagiarized the writings of solomon spaulding to produce the book of mormon. What may interest you is that there are twenty distinct editions of the book of mormon beginning with the first printing in 1830, and culminating. What may interest you is that there are twenty distinct editions of the book of mormon beginning with the first printing in 1830, and culminating with the current edition, first set and printed in 1981. The book of mormon was printed on the 3rd floor, cut and bound on the 2nd floor and put on sale in the book shop of the 1st floor. Book of mormontransmission from translator to printed.

Printing of the first edition book of mormon duration. Book of mormon printing arrangements printing the book of. Feb 16, 2017 beautiful working replica of the original eb grandin acorn printing press that was used to print the first book of mormon. The 50 millionth copy was printed in 1990, with the 100 millionth following in 2000 and reaching 150 million in 2011. Mar 01, 2012 can you tell me when this book was published year and place. Book of mormon printing arrangements printing the book. The copying of the printers manuscript, which was used by the typesetter, had been started in july 1829. This is a twopart post that ive entitled book of mormon printing press meet the mormons. Learning as they went, joseph smith and his associates worked to secure a printers services, finance the printing process, and respond to local opposition to publish the sacred record. The first edition book of mormon is composed in a narrative, paragraph format, uninterrupted by verses and chapters, which many readers will find easier to digest. In the world of scripturepublishing, the word annotation carries a variety of meanings and in the biblepublishing world it has been a staple for decades. This process includes evidence from the two book of mormon manuscripts. The first edition, printed in 1830, is most precious to members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints because joseph smith, the faiths. The first published text from the book of mormon was the title page, which was printed inthe wayne sentinelof 26 june 1829, an item probably obtained from the application.

Gordon is probably the only person on the planet that could have written with authenticity this booklet with subtitle, an oldtime printers perspective on printing the original copies of the book of mormon. Grandin building and the original printing of the book of. For those interested in experiencing the original book of mormon, this high quality reprint will make a. Monson said in the special witnesses of christ video 2000. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of errors. The printing of the book of mormon jump to subtopic. Today, the building the houses the bookstoreturnedreligiouslandmark is known as the book of mormon historic publication site. Adherents to the mormon faith have revered it, critics have questioned its authenticity and scholars have approached it from multiple disciplines, such as literature, anthropology and archeology. Upon discovering coles pirated printing of the book of mormon, oliver cowdery, hyrum smith, and others sent for js who, according to later reminiscences, quickly returned to palmyra from harmony, pennsylvania, and confronted cole, who agreed to cease publication. These books are now individually known as the first edition book of mormon, and only around 500 are estimated to exist today. Joseph, after disposing of this affair, returned to pennsylvania, but it was not long till another difficulty arose. Collecting the book of mormon by joseph, smith first. It is insightful to explore the circumstances and motivations of the smith family both before and after bringing forth the work. This faithful reproduction of the earliest manuscript of the book of mormon perfectly preserves the original text, including the spellings, punctuation, and typography of the book as it was written and printed for the first time in 1830.

The book of mormon has attracted significant attention since its first printing in 1830. A printing history of the book of mormon 101 the year 2000 marked an important event in the publishing history of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Grandin printed and sold the first copies of the book of. The crandall museum has a working copy of the printing press used to print the original 5,000 copies of the book of mormon, and it was on this that they tried to duplicate the original process. For those interested in experiencing the original book of mormon, this high quality reprint will make a wonderful addition to your library. Solomon spaulding and the book of mormon fairmormon. The printing and binding of the book of mormon were finished and the book was offered for sale to the public on march 26, 1830, just eleven days before the church was officially organized. In it, he reports many interesting details of the printing work, including the fact that it. The book of mormon has been criticized and praised for nearly 200 years. He lost his wife, his farm and any semblance of financial security as a result. In march, another firstedition book of mormon sold.

Introductory pages of the book of mormon book of mormon. Translating and printing the book of mormon the book of. With a sixfigure price tag, most people might be surprised to learn that on a list of the ten most expensive mormon books, a first edition book of mormon does not rank at the top. Book of mormon historic publication site wikipedia. Using the 1830 bible as a guide, the first edition book of mormon was replicated to look the same so people of that time period would easily recognize it. The original press used by grandin to print the book of mormon, is currently located in the church history museum in salt lake city, utah. Rather than go into full detail, ill list each of the editions, then mention the ones that may be. On march 26, 1830, an announcement in the wayne sentinel, a local palmyra newspaper, announced the first copies of the book of mormon were officially on sale in e. The book of mormon and the growth of printing in america objectives. Smith said that he then returned the plates to moroni upon the publication of the book. Jun 14, 2018 for the first edition of the book of mormon, joseph smith jr. Brown when the book of mormon was first published in march of. First editions from the original 5,000copy print run have sold for between.

John gilberts 1892 account of the 1830 printing of the book. Better understand the expansive growth of printing in early nineteenthcentury america and how that affected society. Book of mormon by joseph smith, first edition abebooks. The book of mormon went on sale at the bookstore of e. The replica press is found at the crandall printing museum in provo, utah. Feb 23, 2017 the oilbased ink used in printing at the time made better imprints when the paper was slightly moistened, which added the timely step of drying before a sheet could be flipped over to print on the reverse side. This is the fourth printing of the 1958 first edition. This edition of the book of mormon was the first printed outside of the united states and the fourth overall. The title page has been printed, with slight modifications, as the opening page of every full edition of the book of mormon since it first came off the press in march, 1830. While it is the first page that readers generally encounter in the book of mormon, it was not the first page translated by joseph smith. Most latterday saints, however, have only a limited experience with annotated scriptures. It seems clear that his support of the first printing of the book of mormon ruined martin harris.