Sep 26, 2019 - Sale 2517

Sale 2517 - Lot 151

Price Realized: $ 10,625
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 4,000 - $ 6,000
(MORMONS.) Richards, Franklin D.; compiler. The Pearl of Great Price. Folding plate, 2 text illustrations. viii, 56 pages. 8vo, disbound; lacks wrappers, closed tear to folding plate, staining on verso of title page, other minor wear, a few early manuscript notes; includes half-title; inscribed "Howard" on title page. Laid in is a related letter fragment from Richard F. Howard to his father, in the same hand as the title page signature. Liverpool, England: F.D. Richards, 1851

Additional Details

first edition of one of the cornerstone works published by the early Latter Day Saints--and the only edition in English until an 1878 Salt Lake edition. Many of the selections were written by Joseph Smith, or revealed to him. Some of this material had previously appeared only in LDS periodicals. Other portions made here their first appearance in print, most notably the famous "Revelation and Prophecy by the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, Joseph Smith Given December 25th, 1832" (page 35): "The Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States . . . and thus war shall be poured out upon all nations . . . slaves shall rise up against their Masters, who shall be marshalled and disciplined for war." The illustrations are taken from the Book of Abraham, translated by Smith from Egyptian papyrus. We trace no other copies at auction since 1968. Crawley 599; Flake 6166; Howes S628 ("aa"); Mormon Fifty 36; Sabin 83258.