From Gutenberg to Grandin: Tracing the Development of the Printing Press

Keywords

Printing press, Christianity, Early Mormonism, Biblical Studies

Abstract

Late in March 1830, a notice in the Palmyra, New York, newspaper appeared announcing the recent publication of the Book of Mormon. It was the culmination of a three-year translating and printing process that would ultimately stamp Palmyra as the birthplace of Mormonism. Producing this book in the small town along the Erie Canal was an event of unusual proportion as well as portent. In many ways this physical event occurred because of a stream of individuals and inventions that stretched over a four-hundred-year period. The result of this quiet process was an available printing press and competent personnel who in 1830 delivered a book that was anciently described as “a marvellous work and a wonder” (Isaiah 29:14). The story of the physical printing developments that culminated that memorable day of March 26, 1830, in Palmyra, New York, is a fascinating one.

Original Publication Citation

“From Gutenberg to Grandin: Tracing the Development of the Printing Press,” Prelude to the Restoration: From Apostasy to the Restored Church, 33rd Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium Publication, 2004, Deseret Book, pps. 269-286.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2012-03-30

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6462

Publisher

Sidney B. Sperry Symposium Publication

Language

English

College

Religious Education

Department

Ancient Scripture

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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