Footnotes
JS, Journal, 29 June 1842; “Clayton, William,” in Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:718; William Clayton, on behalf of Newel K. Whitney and George Miller, Request to Samuel Russell, Nauvoo, IL, 4 Aug. 1845; William Clayton, on behalf of Jerome Kempton, Order to John Taylor, Nauvoo, IL, 27 Sept. 1845, Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU; Trustee-in-trust, Ledger B, CHL.
Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Co., 1901–1936.
Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.
Trustees Land Books / Trustee-in-Trust, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Land Books, 1839–1845. 2 vols. CHL. MS 3437.
See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, in the CHL catalog.
Footnotes
Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, May 1890, 257–258.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Revelation, 28 Jan. 1842; Woodruff, Journal, 4 Feb. 1842; Agreement with Ebenezer Robinson, 4 Feb. 1842.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Historical Introduction to Times and Seasons, 1 Sept. 1842; Woodruff, Journal, 3 and 19 Feb. 1842.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
“Introductory,” Wasp, 16 Apr. 1842, [2]; William Smith, “Proposals for Publishing the Wasp,” Wasp, 16 Apr. 1842, [4].
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.
“To the Public,” Wasp, 8 Oct. 1842, [2], italics in original.
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.
In September 1842, JS contemplated moving the printing press used to print the Wasp to Keokuk, Iowa Territory, to publish a newspaper there under Woodruff’s editorship, suggesting that Woodruff had taken on some responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper. In a letter to the editor of the Sangamo Journal, church dissident George W. Robinson commented on the confusing status of the editorship of the Wasp, sarcastically stating that because of “the dozen would be editors, who are prowling and loafing about the printing office, it would be difficult to ascertain the editors.” (“Letter from Col. Robinson,” Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], 26 Aug. 1842, [2], italics in original; Woodruff, Journal, 22 Sept. 1842; JS, Journal, 22 Sept. 1842; “To the Public,” Wasp, 8 Oct. 1842, [2].)
Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.
Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, May 1890, 258–262; Agreement with Ebenezer Robinson and Don Carlos Smith, 14 Dec. 1840.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Advertisement, Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1841, 2:272.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Woodruff, Journal, 7–12 Nov. 1842. At this time, JS had numerous civic and ecclesiastical responsibilities, including serving as president and trustee-in-trust of the church as well as mayor, head of the municipal court of Nauvoo, and lieutenant general over the Nauvoo Legion. Additionally, the printing establishment had been plagued with problems in the months leading up to the transfer. The press twice ran out of paper for several weeks in August and November. Furthermore, a fire in the upper floors of the printing office heavily damaged the building in October 1842. These difficulties may have contributed to JS’s decision to lease the business and property. (“Joseph Smith Documents from September 1842 through February 1843”; Historical Introduction to Notice, ca. 1 Dec. 1842; John Taylor, “Introductory,” Wasp, 10 Dec. 1842, [2]; Woodruff, Journal, 24 Oct. 1842.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.
Woodruff, Journal, 7–12 Nov. 1842.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Notice, 15 Nov. 1842. Although dated 15 November, the issue was printed one day later. (John Taylor, Editorial, Times and Seasons, 15 Nov. 1842, 4:8; Woodruff, Journal, 16 Nov. 1842.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
William Smith, “Valedictory,” and John Taylor, “Introductory,” Wasp, 10 Dec. 1842, [2].
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.
JS, Journal, 2 Dec. 1842. Earlier in 1842, Richards noted that one of his responsibilities as JS’s “private secratary, and scribe and clerk” was managing the finances of the “Printing office, Book Binding, Stereotypefoundry, engraving &c. &c.” (Willard Richards to Levi Richards, 7 Mar. 1842, typescript, Richards Family Papers, CHL.)
“Richards Family Letters 1840–1849.” Typescript. Richards Family Papers, 1965. CHL.
Richards, Journal, 2–4 Dec. 1842; Woodruff, Journal, 2–5 Dec. 1842.
Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
The church purchased one of the three presses in Kirtland, Ohio, for printing needs there. In 1837 the press was taken to Far West, Missouri, and beginning in summer 1838 it was used to print the Elders’ Journal. During the Missouri conflict in 1838, the Saints buried the press to hide it from their enemies. In 1839 they disinterred it and brought it to Commerce, Illinois, where it was used to print the Times and Seasons. At some point—presumably prior to the publication of the Wasp in April 1842—the office acquired two additional presses, possibly from Cincinnati or New York, where the printers purchased printing supplies on other occasions. (Prospectus for the Elders’ Journal, 30 Apr. 1838; Prospectus, Times and Seasons, Oct. 1840, 1:191–192; “The Weekly Paper,” Times and Seasons, 2 Aug. 1841, 2:497–498; Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, May 1890, 257–258, 261–262.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Unlike modern printers, who measure type size with a point system, nineteenth-century printers used names to refer to different sizes of type. The sizes mentioned in this inventory, from smallest to largest, are pearl, nonpareil, minion, brevier, long primer, small pica, pica or two-line nonpareil, English, great primer, paragon or two-line long primer, and canon. (Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 1:229–234.)
Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.
Woodruff, Journal, 8–10 Dec. 1842.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
Although the announcement of the dissolution of Taylor and Woodruff’s partnership was dated 30 December 1843, it was not published until 28 February 1844. Woodruff’s journal describes the actual dissolution taking place sometime between 16 and 19 January 1843. (John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff, Notice, Nauvoo Neighbor, 28 Feb. 1844, [3]; Agreement with John Taylor, 23 Jan. 1844, JS Office Papers, CHL; JS, Journal, 23 Jan. 1844; Woodruff, Journal, 16–19 Jan. 1844.)
Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
“No 5 Joseph Smiths a/c CR as pr Printing Office Books,” Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.
Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.
| $ | |
| 1 Mammoth Press, 1 Rolling Frame, 1 Double medium chase, & 2 medium Chases | 275 00 |
| 1 Small Imperial Press, 1 Imperial Chase, 1 Super Royal Chase, Rolling Frame, 2 Roll handles, & Cylenders— | 135 00 |
| 1 Bank | 4 00 |
| 8 Paper Boards @ 37½ | 3 00 |
| 2 Ink Stands (Including 1 stone) | 3 00 |
| 1 Oil can | 75 |
| 2 Cases Old Brevier 85 lbs deduct 18 lbs for cases 67 lbs @ ,25 | 16 75 |
| 2 Cases Long Primer Italics 25¼ deduct 18 lbs for cases 7¼ lbs @ ,15 | 1 09 |
| 2 Cases Old Long Primer N. York 39½ lbs deduct 18 lbs for Cases 21½ @ ,15 | 3 32 |
| 2 Cases old Cincinatti 53 lbs deduct 18 lbs for Cases 35 lbs @ ,15 | 4 25 |
| $446 16 |
| $ | |
| 2 Cases old Cincinatti type 38 lbs deduct 18 lbs for Cases 20 lbs @ 15 | 3 00 |
| 1 Fount Cannon Grecian | 5 50 |
| 1 D[itt]o Scrip Type 25 lbs 80 c[en]ts | 20 00 |
| 1 Do. Roman Condensed Wood Do. | 16 00 |
| 1 Do. Extra Do. great Primer Do. | 2 00 |
| 1 Do. Brevier extended Do. | 1 00 |
| 1 Brass Bottom Proof Galley | 3 00 |
| 1 Fount Paragon 28¼ lb @ 30 cts | 8 55 |
| 8¾ lbs Long Primer Italic Extra | 4 58 |
| 9½ Cannon Border No 3 @ 50 cts | 4 75 |
| 1 Fount Pica Antique | 1 50 |
| 1 Do. Long Primer Do. | 75 |
| 4½ lbs Brevier high quads extra 64 | 2 88 |
| 1 Fount L. Primer Light face | 2 50 |
| 1 Do. Old English | 3 00 |
| Furniture— | 2 00 |
| 10 Boxes 50 cts each— | 5 00 |
| 4 Stoves & pipe | 40 31 |
| 126 32 |
Four months after Taylor and Woodruff signed the lease, the Wasp published an announcement that the newspaper would be enlarged and renamed the Nauvoo Neighbor. The first issue of the Neighbor was published on 3 May 1843. This change may have been made in response to concerns that the tone and title of the Wasp were too aggressive. (“Prospectus,” Wasp, 5 Apr. 1843, [1]; see also Letter from James Arlington Bennet, 16 Aug. 1842.)
The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.
Mammoth was a little-used term for a large sheet of paper typically measuring about 25 × 36 inches, roughly equivalent to the more common double medium size. The term could also refer to presses designed to print on paper that large. This was the largest of the three presses in the Nauvoo printing office and was likely the press salvaged from Missouri in 1839. Based on the size of surviving uncut copies of the Times and Seasons, this was the press used to print that newspaper as well as most of the books and pamphlets published by the press. (Advertisement, Independent Press [Hartford, CT], 27 Jan. 1834, [3]; “For Sale,” Cleveland Observer, 28 Sept. 1837, [3]; “Bill of Prices,” Ohio Statesman [Columbus], 18 Feb. 1839, [3]; Bidwell, “Size of the Sheet in America,” 338; Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 1:27; Prospectus, Times and Seasons, Oct. 1840, 1:191–192.)
Independent Press. Hartford, CT. 1833–1834.
Cleveland Observer. Cleveland. 1837–1840.
Daily Ohio Statesman. Columbus. 1837–1857.
Bidwell, John. “The Size of the Sheet in America: Paper-Moulds Manufactured by N. & D. Sellers of Philadelphia.” Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 87, no. 2 (Oct. 1977): 299–342.
Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
A rolling frame or a roller frame was a carriage holding a pair of ink rollers used to apply ink to type. (Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 2:584–585.)
Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.
Double medium was a name for a sheet of paper usually measuring between 23 × 36 and 25 × 38 inches. It was roughly equivalent to the mammoth size mentioned above. (Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 1:459.)
Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.
Chases were metal frames used to lock up the type for printing. (Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 1:308–309.)
Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.
Medium was a name for a sheet of paper typically measuring 18½ × 23½ inches. (Bidwell, “Size of the Sheet in America,” 328–329, 340–341; Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 1:457–459.)
Bidwell, John. “The Size of the Sheet in America: Paper-Moulds Manufactured by N. & D. Sellers of Philadelphia.” Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 87, no. 2 (Oct. 1977): 299–342.
Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.
The “Imperial Press” mentioned here could refer to either the size or type of press. Like the “Mammoth” mentioned above, Imperial could be a name either for paper measuring 22 × 32 inches or for a press designed to print on paper that large. Additionally, an Imperial printing press was also a type of press invented and manufactured by the firm of Sherwin and Cope in London beginning in the late 1820s. Although the use of the adjective small in the inventory suggests that the inventory was referring to the type of press rather than the size, the printing office must have owned an imperial-sized press by this time. The Nauvoo printing office had earlier advertised an aborted attempt to publish a weekly newspaper on an imperial sheet, and the Wasp appears to have been printed with two copies on a single imperial sheet. The later Nauvoo Neighbor, also published by Taylor and Woodruff, was printed on a full imperial sheet, suggesting that this press was primarily used for publishing the weekly newspapers and was presumably acquired by the printing office around 1841 or 1842, prior to the publication of the Wasp. (Moran, Printing Presses, 93–94; Bidwell, “Size of the Sheet in America,” 337–338, 341; Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 1:27, 457–459; “Proposals,” Times and Seasons, 15 June 1841, 2:453.)
Moran, James. Printing Presses: History and Development from the Fifteenth Century to Modern Times. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973.
Bidwell, John. “The Size of the Sheet in America: Paper-Moulds Manufactured by N. & D. Sellers of Philadelphia.” Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 87, no. 2 (Oct. 1977): 299–342.
Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
Super Royal was a term for a sheet of paper measuring 21 × 27 inches. (Bidwell, “Size of the Sheet in America,” 333–334, 341; Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 1:457–459.)
Bidwell, John. “The Size of the Sheet in America: Paper-Moulds Manufactured by N. & D. Sellers of Philadelphia.” Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 87, no. 2 (Oct. 1977): 299–342.
Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.
These are presumably wooden or metal handles for the ink rollers. (Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 2:539–549, 554–556.)
Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.
These are probably the wooden cores of the ink rollers. This core would be covered with a hardened mixture of glue, molasses, and other ingredients manufactured by the printing office. A mold for manufacturing ink rollers was included elsewhere in this inventory. (Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 2:539–549, 554–556.)
Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.
In printing, bank could refer to either a tier of cases used for storing type or a workbench or table used for storing paper during the printing process. (Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 2:968, 1014.)
Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.
This is possibly a reference to where the type had been purchased. In 1841 the Nauvoo printing office contracted to purchase type from New York in preparation for publishing a weekly newspaper. It is unclear, however, whether the office ever received the ordered type. (“The Weekly Paper,” Times and Seasons, 2 Aug. 1841, 2:497–498; “Nauvoo Ensign and Zarahemla Standard,” Times and Seasons, 1 Nov. 1841, 3:585.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
This is possibly a reference to where the type was purchased. In 1840 Robinson purchased type at Cincinnati in addition to the supplies to open a bookbindery and stereotype foundry. There were also later attempts to purchase new type from Cincinnati. (“The Weekly Paper,” Times and Seasons, 2 Aug. 1841, 2:497–498; Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, May 1890, 261–262.)
Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.
The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.
Furniture was a printing term to describe strips of wood or metal that were placed in the type block to separate pages, create margins, and secure the type in the chase. (Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 1:275, 315–316; 2:992; Gaskell, New Introduction to Bibliography, 78–80.)
Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.
Gaskell, Philip. A New Introduction to Bibliography. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2009.