On Friday, Bryan and I had a really neat opportunity. We got to go to the Library of Congress and see their collection of first and other early editions of the Book of Mormon. Now, whether you are a member of the LDS Church or not, you have to admit, these are pretty incredible. I have my own collection of first edition books, but I must say, it seems pretty paltry when you're surrounded by books like this.
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| This is a first edition of the Book of Mormon, printed in 1830 in Palmyra. Only 5,000 first editions were printed, and it's estimated that fewer than 500 copies still exist today. |
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| Another first edition copy of the Book of Mormon. |
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| A second edition copy of the Book of Mormon, printed in Kirtland, Ohio in 1837. |
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| A third edition copy of the Book of Mormon, printed in Nauvoo, Illinois in 1840. |
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| A copy of the first edition of the Book of Mormon printed in Europe, printed in Liverpool, England in 1851. |
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| A copy of the first edition of the Book of Mormon printed in the Hawaiian language. (I didn't catch when it was printed.) |
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| This is the title page that was submitted when Joseph Smith applied for a copyright for the BOM. The curator explained that this is one of the most rare BOM relics, because Joseph applied for the copyright a few years before the book was actually printed, and the title page was different in the first edition. |
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| This is the page from the copyright register showing Joseph Smith's actual application for a copyright. It's written in Joseph's handwriting. |
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| Here is a closer shot so you can read what is written. "The Book of Mormon, an account written by the hand of Mormon upon plates taken from the plates of Nephi..." Sound familiar? It's similar to the title page that is in the current edition. |
We learned a few interesting facts from the curator. First, first editions of the Book of Mormon are among the books that are most often stolen in the United States. Kind of ironic.
Second, first editions of the Book of Mormon are sold at auction for thousands upon thousands of dollars. A copy sold at auction for $180,000 in March 2007. More about that here.
Third, and this was the most interesting thing to me, for a time after the Saints reached Salt Lake City, Brigham Young began pushing a new way of writing the English language, using different characters than the English alphabet. It was called the Deseret Alphabet, and as I understand it, there were a few reasons for this. First, to make English easier for immigrants to learn by eliminating quirky spelling (each sound had its own letter). Second, to set the LDS church apart and give them their own "language" to protect it from outsiders.
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| A copy of the Book of Mormon printed in the Deseret Alphabet in 1869. The left-hand page is a pronunciation guide. |
2 comments:
That is quite cool. I had known about the Deseret Alphabet, but didn't know they had actually published any BoMs in it.
My grandpa who just passed away was a great scriptorian and collected first editions and rare Book of Mormons. He had many first editions in different languages, which are on display at BYU. But when he was in his early thirties and trying to make ends meet with 7 children, he had the opportunity to buy an absolute first, first edition for $500! This was probably in the late 50s, early 60s. But he felt that he couldn't justify it with how tight money was for their family. $500, can you believe it?!
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