Individual Book Details: C0036
Record Date |
02/16/2024 |
Collection Name |
1840 Nauvoo |
Ownership Type |
Special Collections |
Owner |
Utah Historical Society |
Location |
Salt Lake City UT |
Description |
1840 Book of Mormon, Strangite Voree Plates Images |
Provenance |
Bookplate sticker listing Ex Libris Nicholas H Morgan Sr. Ink stamp listing R. T Nichols |
Unique Features |
Spine: Leather spine with visible gold ribbing. Noticeable wear on top and bottom edges. Library call numbers in white lettering at bottom edge Spine Lettering and Label: Black title ribbon present. Gold block lettering. Cover: Brown leather, noticeable wear on upper and lower right corners. Identifiable scratch lower center and mid diagonal. light discoloring upper left edge. Binding: spine/cover hinging showing dry wear and some cracking. Front inside pastedown covered with a foldout page showing six images from the Voree plates, purported writings discovered by James Strang in 1845. Curved tear at middle set. Front end paper recto has price of 75.00 in upper right corner with bookplate sticker of Nicholas G Morgan Sr. 2nd page recto: ink stamp of R.T Nichols. Two back end papers and Ink stamp at lower edge of back pastedown. Title Page: First Title page: present and intact. light water damage on upper half page. Letter “C” in upper right corner. Back of Title page (verso): ink stamp of Utah State Historical Society with “3729” in blue pen. Second Title page: present with similar water staining. Rubber stamp of R.T Nichols on lower half under paragraphs. Text: Full text block, no known markings or annotations Inscription: Back inside pastedown lists various text in pencil, hard to distinguish. “Reuben T Nichols Book Bought at … state of Michigan….America..October (illegible date)” Notes: light water damage on upper half of text block. More research needed to determine if this is belonged to Reuben Thomas Nichols (10Dec1807- 8Sept1886) of Michigan. Additional Details About this Book: Reuben Thomas Nichols: Born on December 10, 1807 in Johnstown, Montgomery Co., New York. He was baptized into the Church by Warren Parrish but joined James Strang's church in spring of 1846. He lived on Beaver Island, was a polygamist (Eliza A. Hickox and Mary DeMary), and lived near Torch Lake, Antrim Co., Michigan until his death there on September 8, 1886. Like many followers of Strang, Nichols affiliated with the Reorganized Church, and there is no other documentation that he disavowed Strang. Nichols was an avid follower of James Strang and a close associate of Wingfield S. Watson, Strang's most formidable apologist after Strang’s death in 1856. Strangite Voree Plates: A set of three tiny metal plates allegedly discovered by James J. Strang, a leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, in Voree, Wisconsin, United States, in 1845. Facsimile Printing: The facsimile pasted to the Book of Mormon is what is called the "Four-Beam" version as opposed to the "Three-Beam" version (found in other facsimile printings). Printed in this version, there are four distinct beams radiating from the man's grip. That means this facsimile was printed by Wingfield Watson, which makes sense because he and Nichols were close. Watson made these facsimiles from a copper cut that James Strang made from the original plates. Special thanks to Kyle Beshears, Independent researcher of all things Strangite |
