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September 15, 2007
Local Auction Notes - First Edition of the Book of Mormon
Hessney's of Geneva will be auctioning a first edition Book of Mormon turned up in an estate clearance in Wayne County.
From the AP story:
"It has some handwriting in the very front on the border that says 'Scarce. First edition' done in pencil the way a book dealer would normally do it. Underneath it, it has been erased, but it looks like it says $25 or $250 or something like that,'' Witmer said. . . .Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion, said he translated the book from gold plates delivered to him by an angel. The first editions were printed and published by E. B. Grandin in Palmyra, N.Y., in 1830. While there were roughly 5,000 copies printed, only a few hundred still exist.
Hessney's book is in good, unrestored condition with its original binding. However, the gold-leaf lettering has worn off and a blank page in the front is missing, Witmer said.
Latter-Day Harvest, a Utah-based book seller with stores in Palmyra and Nauvoo, Ill., is selling a first edition Book of Mormon for $100,000, Witmer said.
"If theirs is up for sale for $100,000 we will presumably get less than that ... but it will be considerably more than $25 or $250,'' Witmer said.
The auction has already attracted a great deal of attention from rare book collectors and religious historians. Witmer said he's received dozens of calls from across the country; several prospective bidders have said they would be flying to Geneva to attend.
Increasing interest in rare Mormon documents has sent prices booming in the past decade, said John Hajicek, a private collector from Missouri who owns 75 first editions of the Book of Mormon among his $20 million collection of rare books.
There are about 250 first editions held in private collections (including his) and perhaps an equal number yet undiscovered, Hajicek said. Research libraries and museums hold about 50 copies, he said.
In March, Auction Galleries of New York City sold a first edition for $180,000, $150,000 bid plus a 20 percent buyer's premium among the highest prices ever paid for documents associated with the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
That first edition was signed by early apostle Orson Pratt. An inscription by the book's original owner, Denison Root, indicated the book was a gift from Joseph Smith's brother, Hyrum Smith.
In 1997, Sotheby's auction house sold a first edition for $32,200. In 2000, an unnamed buyer purchased a first edition at a West Virginia auction for $44,000.
Hajicek paid $58,000 for a copy in 1999 during an auction in Salt Lake City. He said he would be in Geneva to bid on the Hessney copy.
Thanks for the tip, Dan!
Further - From the local coverage: The book is also special because the inside reads “By Joseph Smith, Junior, Author and Proprietor.” Later editions do not say that, Witmer said.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at September 15, 2007 7:32 AM