W. W. Phelps' first edition Book of Mormon

Here's a great story about a first edition Book of Mormon that I just acquired.  http://www.ldsliving.com/W-W-Phelps-1830-Book-of-Mormon-And-Family-Bible-Acquired-By-Rare-Book-Collector/s/89131

Brigham Young gave this First Edition [European] BOOK OF MORMON to Helen Mar Kimball when she was 13 years old.

First European Edition of the Book of Mormon [1841]. The story behind my new acquisition. 

This past weekend I enjoyed reading Holzapfel's "A Woman's View: Helen Mar [Kimball] Whitney's Reminiscences of Early Church History". In this book, Helen recounts, "The Prophet Joseph Smith and two or three brethren called at our house to hear a letter read from father [Heber C. Kimball]. Joseph, who stood by the bureau, where a couple of china dolls were standing on two large salt cellars (which had been sent from England to my mother [Vilate]) picked one of the dolls up to look at, but in replacing it sat it upon one side--and it fell, breaking the doll's head off. He then merely remarked: "As that has fallen, so shall the heathen gods fall." I stood there a silent observer, unable to understand or appreciate the prophetic words, but thought them a rather weak apology for breaking my doll's head off. My mother afterwards mended it, and though like most of us it shows signs of age, and that it has passed through many ordeals, yet I have kept it, with two or three other little tokens which I received from England....Including a Book of Mormon. My brother William and I received each a beautifully bound BOOK OF MORMON from "Uncle" Brigham Young, with our names printed upon the back in gilt letters...I have read mine through by course more times than any other book I ever saw, and each time it has proved more interesting; I was never more deeply fascinated by a novel than I have been with the Book of Mormon. I've attached two photographs of Helen Mar Kimball's 1841 copy of the Book of Mormon. Earlier this week I got a phone call asking if I was interested in acquiring it....Well, needless to say, I was on a plane 12 hours later. I now own this beautiful book--along
with it's enlightening story.....http://www.pinterest.com/pin/164662930100586877/

One of the "25 finest surviving copies" of the  First Edition BOOK OF MORMON [1830] 

In 1829, Joseph Smith made plans to print the Book of Mormon.  He contacted a local newspaper publisher and bookstore owner in Palmyra, New York named E. B. Grandin.  Mr. Grandin agreed to print 5,000 copies for $3,000.  Martin Harris, a friend of Joseph Smith,  mortgaged his farm to acquire the funds for the printing of the Book of Mormon.

The 1830 first edition Book of Mormon was originally bound in brown calf, plain except for the seven double bands in gilt on the spine with a black leather label stamped in gilt with "BOOK OF MORMON". The end sheets are of the same paper as the text.  The copyright notice appears on the verso of the title page.  A preface (pp. [iii]-iv) explains the loss of the initial 116 pages of manuscript and the revelation of Joseph Smith not to retranslate that part but to begin with the plates of Nephi.  Only the 1830 edition has this preface.  Pages 5-588 contain the main text, and the testimonies of the three and of the eight witnesses occur on both sides of the leaf following page 588.  (Crawley, A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church, Vol. 1 pg. 31)

This is one of the finest first edition copies of the Book of Mormon to come on the market in many years.  Of the original 5,000 copies, as few as 500 have survived.  I have seen over 150 of these surviving copies.  Based on the vast number of copies that I have seen and handled,  I would say that this copy, which rates a solid "9" on a "1-10" scale, is easily one of the 25 finest surviving copies in the world.  

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Exceptional-FIRST-EDITION-Book-of-Mormon-Palmyra-1830-Joseph-Smith-/291085982546?pt=Antiquarian_Collectible&hash=item43c6139b52

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67S0Kl60-xU
I've just posted a new video on YouTube that gives tips on buying, selling or having a first edition BOOK OF MORMON [1830] appraised.  If you would like to have your 1st edition Book of Mormon appraised, or almost any book for that matter, all you need to do is send me a few digital images of the binding, title page and text.  I will then send you a free estimate.  If a more formal written appraisal is needed, details can be worked out.   I'm an allied professional with the Appraisers Association of America.  Please send inquiries to: reidnmoon@gmail.com or threenephites@gmail.com

First Edition BOOK OF MORMON - Are there any "Perfect 10's"

Of the original 5,000 copies of the first edition BOOK OF MORMON that were printed in 1830, only about 500 copies have survived.  Over the past twenty years, I've either owned or handled about 150 of those. 

From my experience, if all first edition copies of the Book of Mormon were rated on a 1-10 scale, the results would look something like a "bell-curve".  By extrapolating the results of my own ratings--which are based on my viewing almost one-third of all surviving copies, I would estimate that about 300 of these 500 copies would rate somewhere in the middle--as "4s", "5s" and "6s".  These copies, which are typical of the majority of books that show up on the market, are textually complete, the covers are well-worn, and the original label on the spine if often missing or the gold lettering on the black label has disappeared.  These copies may also have a few torn pages and show signs of damp staining.   

I would estimate that about another 100 copies would be in much worse condition.  These copies are often missing the title page, show damp staining, lack all or part of the original binding, and have various missing pages.  

On the other end of this "bell-curve" are the "100 Finest Surviving Copies".  These are copies that I would rate as a "7" or above.

These copies have the original binding, title page and label on the spine.  The "BOOK OF MORMON" is still visible on the black, red or tan label.  The text block is tight and square.  The original binding is present.  And the pages show less foxing (brown spots) than the previously mentioned copies.  There are probably 60 or so books that would rate a "7", about 25 that would rate an "8", about 10-12 that would rate a "9" and in my opinion, there are only 2 or 3 copies that could claim the distinction of being an almost "perfect 10".  

I've had the fortune of owning two "almost perfect 10s".  Peter Crawley (author of A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church) saw one of these copies and said that it was the finest copy he had ever seen.  He had originally seen the copy that I acquired in 2010 almost forty years earlier in Northern California.     I've had one other comparable copy.  These "almost perfect 10s" have a nice honey-colored original binding, the "blue speckled edges" are vibrant, the label is crisp and clean, the seven double bands in gilt are present, the text block is tight and the corners are square.  There is little to no foxing, and the front and rear end sheets are present.  These copies show just enough age--yet maintain all of the important distinguishing characteristics of a first edition Book of Mormon.  

I've attached a photo from the label of this "almost perfect 10" copy of the first edition Book of Mormon.  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/164662930098037457/

I can APPRAISE your first edition BOOK OF MORMON.  As part of my business, I do appraisals on a regular basis.  I'm an allied professional with the Appraisers Association of America  http://www.appraisersassoc.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&pageId=781

I appraise individual books and entire collections.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Reid Moon

214-707-0896

www.moonsrarebooks.com