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Title Page of Book of Mormon, circa Early June 1829
Source Note
Source Note
Northern District of , Title Page of Book of Mormon, likely printed in , NY, [ca. early June 1829], filed 11 June 1829, likely Utica, NY; one page; Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress, . Transcription from digital color image made of the original in 2012.
Single leaf measuring 7¾ × 6⅛ inches (20 × 16 cm). On the verso is a docket written in graphite in unidentified handwriting. The custodial history of the item is not known.
Historical Introduction
Historical Introduction
The following document, a copy of the title page of the Book of Mormon, is the first printed JS document. JS submitted it to the District Court for the Northern District of as part of his application for a federal copyright. Conforming with copyright law, he submitted a printed copy of the full title page, which he later explained was from the . The clerk of the court, , filed this title page in Utica, New York, on 11 June 1829, suggesting that it was printed no later than the first few days of June 1829. Lansing completed an official copyright form that same day and included a handwritten copy of the title page that he likely copied from the document featured below.
This title page was apparently typeset for the purposes of obtaining a copyright. The printer may have been , who eventually printed the Book of Mormon. began printing negotiations with Grandin in early June, and Grandin included a differently formatted version of the title page in his newspaper, the Wayne Sentinel, in , New York, on 26 June 1829. The type does not match fonts known to be in use in Grandin’s shop at the time, however, and JS or Harris may have had another printer create this document. On 11 August, another newspaper, the Palmyra Freeman, printed a copy of the title page, most likely reproduced from the Sentinel.
Footnotes
- [1]
Copyright for the Book of Mormon, 11 June 1829; see also An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Securing Copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of Such Copies during the Times Therein Mentioned [31 May 1790], Public Statutes at Large, 1st Cong., 2nd Sess., chap. 15, p. 125, sec. 3; and Wadsworth, “Copyright Laws and the 1830 Book of Mormon,” 81–83.
The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.
Wadsworth, Nathaniel Hinckley. “Copyright Laws and the 1830 Book of Mormon.” BYU Studies 45, no. 3 (2006): 77–99.
- [2]
JS’s history stated that the title page was “taken from the very last leaf, on the left hand side of the collection or book of plates, which contained the record which has been translated.” This may indicate that the title page was recorded as the last page of the plates that constituted the Book of Mormon. (JS History, vol. A-1, 34.)
- [3]
It is unknown if JS or one of his associates submitted the copyright in person or mailed it to Utica. Traveling from Palmyra to Utica (approximately 120 miles one way) would have taken several days but was a possibility, especially if funds were available to travel by stage. (See Ehat, “‘Securing’ the Prophet’s Copyright,” 17–18; see also Historical Introduction to Copyright for Book of Mormon, 11 June 1829.)
Ehat, Stephen Kent. “‘Securing’ the Prophet’s Copyright in the Book of Mormon: Historical and Legal Context for the So-Called Canadian Copyright Revelation.” BYU Studies 50, no. 2 (2011): 4–70.
- [4]
Lansing’s copyright form included a preprinted paragraph at the top of the page and another at the bottom, leaving the center for Lansing to write the title of the book. The handwritten title of the Book of Mormon included the statement that JS was the “author and proprietor,” a phrase used in the copyright statute and also found in the printed portion of the copyright form. The form resides in the Library of Congress in a large book with other copyright forms that were submitted during the same period. (Copyright for Book of Mormon, 11 June 1829, clerk’s copy, New York North District, Copyright Book, vol. 116, p. 107, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress, Washington DC; An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Securing Copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of Such Copies during the Times Therein Mentioned [31 May 1790], Public Statutes at Large, 1st Cong., 2nd Sess., chap. 15, pp. 124–126; see also Copyright for Book of Mormon, 11 June 1829.)
Copyright for Book of Mormon, 11 June 1829. Clerk’s copy. New York North District, Copyright Book, vol. 116, p. 107. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress, Washington DC.
The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.
- [5]
John H. Gilbert, Memorandum, 8 Sept. 1892, photocopy, CHL.
Gilbert, John H. Memorandum, 8 Sept. 1892. Photocopy. CHL. MS 9223.
- [6]
For contemporary versions of the title page in addition to the one presented here, see News item, Wayne Sentinel (Palmyra, NY), 26 June 1829, [3]; “Golden Bible,” Palmyra (NY) Freeman, 11 Aug. 1829, [2]; Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., [i]; “The Book of Mormon,” Wayne Sentinel (Palmyra, NY), 26 Mar. 1830, [3]; and Book of Mormon, Printer’s Manuscript, [i].
Wayne Sentinel. Palmyra, NY. 1823–1852, 1860–1861.
Palmyra Freeman. Palmyra, NY. 1828–1829.
Book of Mormon, Printer’s Manuscript, 1829–1830. CHL.
“Book of Mormon”
Joseph Smith Jr.
Filed 11 June 1829— [p. [2]]
Document Information
Document Information
Footnotes
Footnotes
Docket on back of sheet in unidentified handwriting.