# Is "The Book of Mormon" by [Joseph Smith Jr., as translator] a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Book of Mormon by [Joseph Smith Jr., as translator] (Printed by E. B. Grandin, Palmyra, New York, 1830) 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. 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.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Printed by E. B. Grandin, Palmyra, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | [Joseph Smith Jr., as translator] |
| Publisher | Printed by E. B. Grandin, Palmyra, New York |
| Year | 1830 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The title page reads "BY JOSEPH SMITH, JUNIOR, AUTHOR AND PROPRIETOR" — wording unique to the 1830; every later edition substitutes… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Book of Mormon* by [Joseph Smith Jr., as translator] a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-book-of-mormon
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.