PROVO, Utah — How does one appropriately observe the 175th anniversary of the publication of the Book of Mormon? How about printing some facsimile sheets on a precise replica of the press from which the first copies were issued in 1830?
In the presence of interested visitors at the Crandall Historical Printing Museum he founded in Provo, Louis E. Crandall did just that on the anniversary day, March 26, during a commemorative open house.
The museum, which boasts the most complete printing exhibit in the world pertaining to Johannes Gutenberg's printing of the Bible in 1456, also houses a replica of the Peter Smith hand press with which publisher E. B. Grandin printed the first edition of the Book of Mormon.
It is one of only two replicas that were made from the original, which today is displayed in the permanent Church history exhibit of the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City. The other replica is in the actual Grandin building, today a Church historic site, in Palmyra, N.Y. (Please see March 12 Church News for an article about the anniversary and photos of the Grandin Building and its interior.) Brother Crandall said both replicas were made by disassembling the original press, then making molds from the parts, from which the replica parts were cast.
Brother Crandall demonstrated the process from the point at which typesetter John Gilbert would have been handed the printer's manuscript of the Book of Mormon by Oliver Cowdery. Taking the first two words in 1 Nephi as an example, he showed how they would have been set a letter at a time: "I (space) N-e-p-h-i."
"He set the entire Book of Mormon, one letter at a time, just like that," using type that appears upside down and backwards so that it would print with proper orientation as the paper was applied to the inked type, Brother Crandall said. He added that Grandin hired 14-year-old boys to replace the type in its various boxes in the upper and lower case of the cabinet. Since it was difficult to distinguish the letter p from the letter q with the type appearing to be backwards, he surmises that gave rise to the expression "mind your p's and q's."
The authentic Scotch Roman type was made for the museum by a San Francisco manufacturer; today, the museum has its own monotype caster, with which it can make its own type.
On the press, Brother Crandall displayed the first 16-page "signature" of the Book of Mormon that would have been printed, including the title page. He showed how a printer would use hand inking tools — handles with pieces of leather tied on the ends, which absorbed the ink to be applied to the type. With the ink thus applied, he had a strong volunteer pull an elbow handle which forced the platen down onto the inked type. With the 16 pages thus printed, the paper was set on a line for drying, preparatory to it being printed on the other side, then folded, cut and sewn together for binding in the book.
To print the 5,000 copies in the book's first edition, the press handle had to be pulled 5,000 times for each 16-page signature. With 37 signatures, that amounts to 185,000 pulls of the handle to print the entire edition.
Brother Crandall delights in showing the press and process to school classes and other groups of visitors. He looks forward to expanding his museum into an adjoining building.
E-mail to: rscott@desnews.com