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Grandin Building Printing PressVirtual Historian, 2004
In the third-floor
printing room, several trained men and boys would work 8-10
hours a day, 6 days a week printing the 185,000 sheets that
would eventually be folded, cut, and bound on the second
level to create the 590-page Book of Mormon.
Book of Mormon Signature Sheets at Grandin BuildingCraig Dimond, 1998
After printing,
every page was hung to dry on racks before being sent to
the bindary to be folded, cut, and bound.
Grandin Building BinderyVirtual Historian, 2004
Within 8 months, from
August 1829 to March 1830, Grandin finished the typesetting
and printing of the Book of Mormon. Binding of all 5,000
books was completed in July 1831 ("Where the Book of Mormon
Went to Press," Ensign, Feb. 1989, 44).
Grandin BuildingJohn Telford, 2004
Egbert B. Grandin moved
his newspaper and printing business into this building in
1828. Just months before Joseph Smith approached him about
printing the Book of Mormon, Grandin purchased an advanced
"Smith Patented Improved Press" that significantly speeded
up the printing process ("Two Significant Sites of the
Restoration," Ensign, Sept. 1998, 34–37).
Grandin BuildingGeorge Edward Anderson, circa 1907In June 1829 Joseph Smith and others first approached Egbert Bratt Grandin about printing the Book of Mormon. After initially rejecting the commision on moral and religious grounds, he later agreed to print 5,000 copies of the book for $3,000.Grandin Building BookstoreVirtual Historian, 2004
On March 26, 1830, the
first few completed copies of the Book of Mormon were made
available for purchase at Grandin's bookstore. They sold for
$1.25, which was about the average, 3-day wage of a worker
along the Erie Canal.
Type Set at Grandin BuildingJohn Telford, 2004After Grandin agreed to print the Book of Mormon, John Gilbert became the principal compositor to set the type for the Book of Mormon. This was done by arranging each letter, one by one.First Edition of the Book of MormonPhilip Shurtleff, 1988Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon "by the gift and power of God. The record is now published in many languages as a new and additional witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that all who will come unto him and obey the laws and ordinances of his gospel may be saved" (Introduction to the Book of Mormon).Palmyra/Manchester Area, 1820–1831Church History Maps.
1. Joseph Smith
Sr. Log Home: The angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith
in an upper room of this home on 21-22 September 1823 (see
JS-H 1:29-47).
2. Joseph Smith
Sr. Farm: This 100-acre farm was developed by the Smith
family from 1820 to 1829.
3. Sacred Grove:
Joseph Smith Jr.'s First Vision occurred in this
woodland in the early spring of 1820 (see JS-H 1:11-20).
4. Joseph Smith
Sr. Frame Home: This home was begun in 1822 by Alvin
Smith and occupied by the Smith family from 1825 to 1829.
5. Hill Cumorah:
Here the angel Moroni gave the Prophet Joseph Smith the
gold plates on 22 September 1827 (see JS-H 1:50-54, 59).
6. Martin Harris
Farm: This farm was mortgaged and part of its acreage
sold to pay for the printing of the Book of Mormon.
7. E. B. Grandin
Print Shop: 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were
printed here 1829-30.
8. Hathaway
Brook: In this brook some early Church baptisms were
performed
Erie CanalCraig James Ostler, 2004
The completion of the
Erie Canal in 1825 sparked an economic boom in Palmyra and
other towns along its 363-mile route. As a result, resources
such as the Grandin press were available to make the
publication of the Book of Mormon a reality ("Two
Significant Sites of the Restoration," Ensign, Sept.
1998, 34–35).
Finger Lakes Area, New York State.Church History in the Fulness of Times, page 29.
In 1816 when the Smiths
moved to Palmyra, it was a village of about six hundred
people. In 1818 or 1819 they began to clear a
one-hundred-acre farm nearby in Farmington township (later
Manchester township).
