Book of Mormon Liverpool 1841

5WS The Book of Mormon: an account written by the hand of Mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of Nephi. Translated by Joseph Smith, Liverpool England 1841

Notes

In November 1839, Parley Pratt wrote to Joseph Smith and asked permission for the Twelve to publish the Book of Mormon on the east coast and in various languages. Hyrum Smith responded in a letter on December 22, 1839, saying that he did not want the book published in New York but he approved it being published in Europe. So in April 1840 the Twelve designated Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Parley P. Pratt to obtain the British copyright for the Book of Mormon. Brigham Young was soon after designated to be the one to go to Manchester and arrange to publish 3,000 copies of both the hymnbook and Book of Mormon. On June 7, 1840, Brigham Young and John Taylor obtained a bid from John Tompkins, of Liverpool, to print 3,000 copies for £88 plus £60 for paper or 5,000 copies for £110 plus £100 for paper. Ten days later, they contracted with Tompkins to print 5,000 copies. In spite of the fact that he was paid the full £110, Tompkins only delivered 4,050 copies apparently because he had printed too few of the last three signatures.

This 1841 Liverpool edition is essential a faithful reprint of the 1837 Kirtland edition. Unlike its predecessors, it has the testimonies of the three and eight witnesses at the beginning and is the first to incorporate an index as an intrinsic part of the book. Printed in double columns, this “index,” like the 1835 References to the Book of Mormon after which it is pattered is really a book-by-book outline or an extended table of contents.

Description

Original black calf leather binding. Vertical creases in leather spine from wear. Gilt lettering on spine. Chipping to all edges of the first three pages. Chipping to the four corners of the boards with most significant damage to the upper left corner of the back board. Leather has deteriorated here about a half inch in either direction. Two small cuts in the leather on the back board as well one about two inches in length on the lower section of the spine and minimal scuffing on all sides. Ownership inscription in ink on the first page and salmon colored book plate on the interior of the front board. Quite clean on the interior with very minimal foxing—as compared to most other copies. Shadow staining on two interior pages, 306 and 307 where a card or paper must have been placed over a long period of time. Wonderful condition for the age of the book.