Is My The Book of Mormon a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The title page reads "BY JOSEPH SMITH, JUNIOR, AUTHOR AND PROPRIETOR" — wording unique to the 1830; every later edition substitutes "translated by." The imprint reads "Palmyra: printed by E. B. Grandin, for the author
• 1830." The Preface — a thirty-five-line address explaining the loss of the 116 manuscript pages — is present only in the 1830
• The Testimony of Three Witnesses and the Testimony of Eight Witnesses stand at the END of the volume, on the final unnumbered printed leaf, not at the front as in later editions; pages are marked [i]–[590]. Printed on thirty-seven sheets folded into thirty-seven gatherings of eight leaves each, making a 592-page text block; leaf about 7¼ x 4⅝ inches
• Original binding: brown calfskin, seven double bands in gilt on the spine, black spine label lettered "BOOK OF | MORMON," with two blank flyleaves front and back
• 5,000 copies were printed and bound
• Because it was hand-press printed with stop-press corrections across a long print run, copies show sheet-level typographic variants; uncorrected sheets are recorded

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

No UK, US or original-language precedence question arises: Palmyra 1830 is the true first and the only 1830 printing — the census claim is correct. The second edition is Kirtland, Ohio, 1837 (published by Parley P. Pratt and John Goodson), which changed "author and proprietor" to "translator," dropped the 1830 Preface, moved the witness testimonies, and made hundreds of grammatical changes and emendations.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The 1830 has been facsimiled repeatedly, and photographic reprints reproduce the "author and proprietor" title page exactly — so the title-page wording alone proves nothing. Judge the paper, the hand-press impression, the thirty-seven-gathering structure and the period calf binding; modern facsimiles are machine-printed on modern stock and are normally identified on the copyright page or at the rear. Single leaves broken out of genuine 1830 copies are also widely sold and should not be confused with a complete book.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Book of Mormon a first edition?

A first edition of The Book of Mormon by [Joseph Smith Jr., as translator] (Printed by E. B. Grandin, Palmyra, New York) is identified by: The title page reads "BY JOSEPH SMITH, JUNIOR, AUTHOR AND PROPRIETOR" — wording unique to the 1830; every later edition substitutes "translated by." The imprint reads "Palmyra: printed by E.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. No UK, US or original-language precedence question arises: Palmyra 1830 is the true first and the only 1830 printing — the census claim is correct.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

The 1830 has been facsimiled repeatedly, and photographic reprints reproduce the "author and proprietor" title page exactly — so the title-page wording alone proves nothing. Judge the paper, the hand-press impression, the thirty-seven-gathering structure and the period calf binding; modern facsimiles are machine-printed on modern stock and are normally identified on the copyright page or at the rear. Single leaves broken out of genuine 1830 copies are also widely sold and should not be confused

I have a first edition of The Book of Mormon — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.