Beschreibung:

SMITH, Joseph (1805-1844). American religious leader. Book of Commandments for the Government of the Church of Christ, Organized According to Law, on the 6th of April, 1830 . [Zion (Independence, Missouri): Published by W.W. Phelps & Co., 1833]. 24 o , 4¾ x 3 in. (120 x 77mm.). Collation: A-E . . . Lacking titlepage (A1), pages 27-30 & 32 shaved at top, affecting pagination, pp.10-12, 14, 19-20 shaved at bottom with partial loss of last line of text, rust mark from a paperclip on p.32, light browning and scattered foxing. Binding: IN AN ORIGINAL BINDING of contemporary or slightly later polished brown calf (probably an adaptation of a pre-existing binding for a thicker volume, as the central panel is too wide for the spine of the book and the rear cover is off-center by about an inch), hand-stitched along the spine, wallet-style edges, both covers identically decorated with four heartshaped tools at the center and with single repetitions of the same tool at each corner, a front endleaf cut from an unrelated printed document with a reference to the Presidential elections of 1829 and 1833. (Rubbed, small tear to back cover, rear endleaf not present). Folding protective case. THE EXCEEDINGLY RARE FIRST EDITION OF THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS, THE SECOND PUBLICATION OF THE MORMAN CHURCH, OF WHICH A SMALL NUMBER OF COPIES SURVIVED A MOB'S ATTACK ON THE PRINTING OFFICE. A PREVIOUSLY UNRECORDED COPY, IN A HIGHLY UNUSUAL CONTEMPORARY HOME-MADE BINDING FIRST EDITION of this key scriptural work of the Church of Jesus of Latter-Day Saints (the work known since 1835 as the Doctrine and Covenants ) constituting the second book publication of the new Church (preceded only by The Book of Mormon , 1830.) Printing of the book was never completed due to a anti-Mormon mob's attack on the printing office in Zion (Independence), which resulted in the destruction of the press and all but a handful of the printed sheets. Today, only some 25 copies of the edition are extant; of those, a significant number are imperfect, lacking title and in some cases, whole gatherings. Peter Crawley, A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church , Vol.1, no.8 (recording 18 copies, some of which are imperfect, in institutional collections); Sabin 83147; Streeter sale, Part 3, 1854. The book was to contain a series of revelations occurring to Joseph Smith between July 1828 and April 1832, largely concerning the organization and governing of the recently established and rapidly growing Church. Dictated by Smith to Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer, some had circulated in manuscript among members, so it was an obvious step to have the text printed and more widely circulated among adherents. In July 1831, the Church had acquired lands near Independence (christened "Zion" in a revelation to Smith). In September, at a meeting of the Church leaders in Hiram, Ohio, the printer W.W. Phelps was instructed to purchase a press and types in order to establish a printing office at Zion, where it was intended to issue a monthly newspaper; he was also authorized to print an edition of 10,000 copies of the Book of Commandments . In May 1832, a Church council designated Phelps, Cowdery and Whitmer to supervise the printing of the Commandments. The size of the edition was scaled back to a more modest 3,000 copies. For this purpose a manuscript of the revelations, corrected by Smith, was furnished to serve as copy-text and a supply of paper was brought to Zion. Phelps began to issue the monthly newspaper The Evening and the Morning Star in June 1832 and selections from the Book of Commandements were printed in that and subsequent issues, along with reports on the progress of the book, which was to be priced at 20 or 25 cents. By July, five sheets (each comprising 32 pages) had evidently been set in type and printed. "At this stage of the work, on July 20, the printing house was attacked by an anti-Mormon mob, and its contents, including the sheets of the printed revelations, destroyed