Egbert Bratt Grandin
Encyclopedia
Egbert Bratt Grandin was a printer in Palmyra, New York
, known for publishing the first edition of the Book of Mormon
, a sacred text of the churches of the Latter Day Saint movement
.
, Monmouth County
, New Jersey
, the youngest of ten children, and was reared on a farm near Palmyra, New York. At eighteen he became an apprentice printer at the office of Palmyra's Wayne Sentinel, which he purchased in 1827. Besides publishing the newspaper, Grandin sold and bound books and operated a lending library. He married Harriet Rogers in 1828; they had six children, five of whom lived to adulthood. Grandin died at Palmyra.
Grandin first rejected the request of Joseph Smith, Jr. to publish the Book of Mormon possibly "out of principle because he considered the book to be fraudulent and suspected that it would be a risky financial venture." Smith then sought a Rochester printer to do the job. "Realizing the work would proceed anyway, Grandin apparently overcame his scruples or his reservations and agreed to publish the work in Palmyra," requiring a $3,000 security to print five thousand copies. "Fulfilling his wife's worst fears," Martin Harris, a well-to-do farmer and early believer in Smith's revelations, mortgaged his farm as security for the costly endeavor, effectively ending his marriage.
On June 26, 1829, the twenty-three-year-old Grandin announced in the Wayne Sentinel that he intended to publish the Book of Mormon
"as soon as the translation is complete." Oliver Cowdery
prepared a copy of the manuscript, and Grandin bought "500 pounds of new small pica" type in New York. The chief compositor, John H. Gilbert, found that the manuscript was "closely written and legible, but not a punctuation mark from beginning to end." Gilbert said that he added punctuation and capitalization in the evenings. Cowdery also set some type. To print the book, Grandin used a Smith Improved Printing Press invented by Peter Smith (1795–1823), which first appeared on the market about 1821 and was the most up-to-date press available to the small printer of the day.
In October, Smith wrote that locals were "very much excited" by the prospect of publication, but their excitement was not the sort that Joseph had hoped for. The Palmyra Freeman called the prospective book "the greatest piece of superstition that has come to our knowledge." In September, Abner Cole
began a weekly, the Palmyra Reflector, and because he used Grandin's press, Cole had access to the unbound sheets and reprinted mocking excerpts until Smith threatened legal action. According to Joseph's mother, Lucy Mack Smith
, locals then organized a boycott, and Grandin "panicked and suspended publication until Joseph managed to allay his fears." Joseph received a revelation for Martin Harris, "a commandment of God and not of man," that he should "not covet" his property "but impart it freely to the printing of the Book of Mormon which contains the truth and the word of God....Pay the debt thou hast contracted with the printer."
By late March 1830, the Book of Mormon was available for sale, but the entire first edition was not complete until early summer. Harris desperately tried to sell the books himself but lamented that "no Body [sic] wants them." Harris's farm was sold for $3,000 and the proceeds paid to Grandin. But in 1999 a copy of Grandin's first edition of the Book of Mormon sold for $58,000; in 2000 another copy was sold for $44,000; and in 2007 a copy was sold at auction for $180,000.
On March 26, 1998, the official anniversary of the first printing, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated a restoration of part of the original Grandin establishment, which the church maintains and where it offers free guided tours.
Palmyra (town), New York
Palmyra is a town in Wayne County, New York, USA. The population was 7,672 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the ancient city Palmyra in Syria....
, known for publishing the first edition of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
, a sacred text of the churches of the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
.
Biography
E. B. Grandin was born in FreeholdFreehold Borough, New Jersey
Freehold is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 12,052. It is the county seat of Monmouth County....
, Monmouth County
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, the youngest of ten children, and was reared on a farm near Palmyra, New York. At eighteen he became an apprentice printer at the office of Palmyra's Wayne Sentinel, which he purchased in 1827. Besides publishing the newspaper, Grandin sold and bound books and operated a lending library. He married Harriet Rogers in 1828; they had six children, five of whom lived to adulthood. Grandin died at Palmyra.
Grandin Print Shop and the first publication of the Book of Mormon
On June 26, 1829, the twenty-three-year-old Grandin announced in the Wayne Sentinel that he intended to publish the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
"as soon as the translation is complete." Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
prepared a copy of the manuscript, and Grandin bought "500 pounds of new small pica" type in New York. The chief compositor, John H. Gilbert, found that the manuscript was "closely written and legible, but not a punctuation mark from beginning to end." Gilbert said that he added punctuation and capitalization in the evenings. Cowdery also set some type. To print the book, Grandin used a Smith Improved Printing Press invented by Peter Smith (1795–1823), which first appeared on the market about 1821 and was the most up-to-date press available to the small printer of the day.
In October, Smith wrote that locals were "very much excited" by the prospect of publication, but their excitement was not the sort that Joseph had hoped for. The Palmyra Freeman called the prospective book "the greatest piece of superstition that has come to our knowledge." In September, Abner Cole
Abner Cole
Abner Cole , also known by his pen name Obadiah Dogberry, Esq., was a 19th-century American newspaper editor. He is notable as one of the earliest critics of the spiritual claims of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, having commented on the "Golden Bible" before it was...
began a weekly, the Palmyra Reflector, and because he used Grandin's press, Cole had access to the unbound sheets and reprinted mocking excerpts until Smith threatened legal action. According to Joseph's mother, Lucy Mack Smith
Lucy Mack Smith
Lucy Mack Smith was the mother of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. She is most noted for writing an award-winning memoir: Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations. She was an important leader of the movement during...
, locals then organized a boycott, and Grandin "panicked and suspended publication until Joseph managed to allay his fears." Joseph received a revelation for Martin Harris, "a commandment of God and not of man," that he should "not covet" his property "but impart it freely to the printing of the Book of Mormon which contains the truth and the word of God....Pay the debt thou hast contracted with the printer."
By late March 1830, the Book of Mormon was available for sale, but the entire first edition was not complete until early summer. Harris desperately tried to sell the books himself but lamented that "no Body [sic] wants them." Harris's farm was sold for $3,000 and the proceeds paid to Grandin. But in 1999 a copy of Grandin's first edition of the Book of Mormon sold for $58,000; in 2000 another copy was sold for $44,000; and in 2007 a copy was sold at auction for $180,000.
On March 26, 1998, the official anniversary of the first printing, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated a restoration of part of the original Grandin establishment, which the church maintains and where it offers free guided tours.