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Lease to John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff, between 8 and 10 December 1842

Source Note

JS, Lease,
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, to
John Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
and
Wilford Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
,
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Hancock Co., IL, [between 8 and 10 Dec. 1842]; handwriting of
John Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
; signatures of
John Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
,
Wilford Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
, and JS; six pages; JS Collection (Supplement), CHL. Includes dockets.
Bifolium and attached leaf measuring 12⅜ × 7⅝ inches (31 × 19 cm). Each page is ruled with thirty-six horizontal lines printed in brown ink (now heavily faded). The attached leaf was apparently detached from a bifolium, as the left side of the recto was either torn or cut. After the document was completed, the leaf containing the fifth page of the lease was attached to the back of the bifolium by a wafer seal placed in the upper left corner of the leaf’s recto. The lease was later folded for docketing and storage. Presumably at the same time he wrote the document,
John Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
docketed the back page.
When the agreement was being filed,
William Clayton

17 July 1814–4 Dec. 1879. Bookkeeper, clerk. Born at Charnock Moss, Penwortham, Lancashire, England. Son of Thomas Clayton and Ann Critchley. Married Ruth Moon, 9 Oct. 1836, at Penwortham. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Heber...

View Full Bio
, who served as scribe to JS from 1842 to 1844 and as clerk to later trustees-in-trust until 1846,
1

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.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

labeled the document “Agreement for Printing Office.” At a later date, Clayton added the three names of the two parties to the lease below his original docket. The Church Historical Department (now CHL) published a register of the JS Collection in 1973. Between 1974 and 1984, staff continued to locate documents authored by or directed to JS in uncataloged church financial records and in name and subject files. The department also acquired additional JS documents from donors, collectors, and dealers. These newly located and acquired documents were kept together in a supplement to the JS Collection. A preliminary inventory of the supplement was created in 1992. This group of records was named the JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, and its cataloging was finalized in 2017.
2

See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, in the CHL catalog.


The document’s early dockets and inclusion in the JS Collection (Supplement) suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    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.

  2. [2]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

In early December 1842, JS leased the
printing office

Located at four different sites from 1839–1846: cellar of warehouse on bank of Mississippi River, June–Aug. 1839; frame building on northeast corner of Water and Bain streets, Nov. 1839–Nov. 1841; newly built printing establishment on northwest corner of ...

More Info
in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
, Illinois, to
John Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
and
Wilford Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
. The agreement also granted Taylor and Woodruff the authority to edit and publish two newspapers, the Times and Seasons and the Wasp. In 1839
Ebenezer Robinson

25 May 1816–11 Mar. 1891. Printer, editor, publisher. Born at Floyd (near Rome), Oneida Co., New York. Son of Nathan Robinson and Mary Brown. Moved to Utica, Oneida Co., ca. 1831, and learned printing trade at Utica Observer. Moved to Ravenna, Portage Co....

View Full Bio
and
Don Carlos Smith

25 Mar. 1816–7 Aug. 1841. Farmer, printer, editor. Born at Norwich, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Palmyra, Ontario Co., New York, 1816–Jan. 1817. Moved to Manchester, Ontario Co., 1825. Baptized into Church of Jesus...

View Full Bio
established the printing office and the Times and Seasons with a printing press the
church

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
provided.
1

Ebenezer Robinson, “Items of Personal History of the Editor,” Return, May 1890, 257–258.


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

In January 1842, JS dictated a revelation directing the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

View Glossary
to take responsibility for the newspaper, and within a week JS purchased the office and the paper.
2

Revelation, 28 Jan. 1842; Woodruff, Journal, 4 Feb. 1842; Agreement with Ebenezer Robinson, 4 Feb. 1842.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

For the next nine months, JS served nominally as the editor of the Times and Seasons and as the head of the printing office, though in practice Taylor wrote much of the editorial content and Woodruff managed the business affairs.
3

Historical Introduction to Times and Seasons, 1 Sept. 1842; Woodruff, Journal, 3 and 19 Feb. 1842.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

A few months after JS took possession of the
printing office

Located at four different sites from 1839–1846: cellar of warehouse on bank of Mississippi River, June–Aug. 1839; frame building on northeast corner of Water and Bain streets, Nov. 1839–Nov. 1841; newly built printing establishment on northwest corner of ...

More Info
, his younger brother
William Smith

13 Mar. 1811–13 Nov. 1893. Farmer, newspaper editor. Born at Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Lebanon, Grafton Co., New Hampshire, 1811; to Norwich, Windsor Co., 1813; and to Palmyra, Ontario Co., New York, 1816...

View Full Bio
began publishing the Wasp as a more traditional newspaper. In contrast to the semimonthly Times and Seasons, which was devoted to religious articles and church news, the weekly Wasp focused largely on general and local news. Although the paper listed William Smith as the author and publisher, its inclusion in this December 1842 lease suggests that because the Wasp was published out of the printing office owned by JS, it likewise belonged to JS.
4

“Introductory,” Wasp, 16 Apr. 1842, [2]; William Smith, “Proposals for Publishing the Wasp,” Wasp, 16 Apr. 1842, [4].


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

By fall 1842, William Smith apparently started relinquishing his responsibilities over the Wasp, and the paper began to refer to him as its “nominal editor.”
5

“To the Public,” Wasp, 8 Oct. 1842, [2], italics in original.


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

Contextual information suggests that as early as August or September 1842,
Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
—with
Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
and perhaps others—handled the actual duties of editing and publishing the Wasp.
6

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].)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

By fall 1842, therefore, Taylor and Woodruff had assumed management and editorial oversight of the printing office and both papers in all but name.
In addition to publishing two newspapers, the
printing office

Located at four different sites from 1839–1846: cellar of warehouse on bank of Mississippi River, June–Aug. 1839; frame building on northeast corner of Water and Bain streets, Nov. 1839–Nov. 1841; newly built printing establishment on northwest corner of ...

More Info
included a stereotype foundry and a bookbindery. In 1840, after his experience getting the Book of Mormon stereotyped (a printing technique that created fixed lead printing plates allowing for easy reprinting of books) and bound in
Cincinnati

Area settled largely by emigrants from New England and New Jersey, by 1788. Village founded and surveyed adjacent to site of Fort Washington, 1789. First seat of legislature of Northwest Territory, 1790. Incorporated as city, 1819. Developed rapidly as shipping...

More Info
,
Ebenezer Robinson

25 May 1816–11 Mar. 1891. Printer, editor, publisher. Born at Floyd (near Rome), Oneida Co., New York. Son of Nathan Robinson and Mary Brown. Moved to Utica, Oneida Co., ca. 1831, and learned printing trade at Utica Observer. Moved to Ravenna, Portage Co....

View Full Bio
purchased the supplies necessary to open his own stereotype foundry and bookbindery in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas....

More Info
.
7

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.


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Return. Davis City, IA, 1889–1891; Richmond, MO, 1892–1893; Davis City, 1895–1896; Denver, 1898; Independence, MO, 1899–1900.

In January 1841, Robinson announced that he was “prepared to execute work” in stereotyping and bookbinding.
8

Advertisement, Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1841, 2:272.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

When JS purchased the printing office from Robinson in February 1842, he likewise took control of the foundry and bindery.
9

Agreement with Ebenezer Robinson, 4 Feb. 1842.


During the second week of November 1842, JS met with
Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
and
Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
and requested that they take full control of the
printing office

Located at four different sites from 1839–1846: cellar of warehouse on bank of Mississippi River, June–Aug. 1839; frame building on northeast corner of Water and Bain streets, Nov. 1839–Nov. 1841; newly built printing establishment on northwest corner of ...

More Info
and “liberate” him from that responsibility.
10

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

Taylor and Woodruff agreed to rent the property—with its printing shop, equipment, and newspapers—rather than buy the establishment outright.
11

Woodruff, Journal, 7–12 Nov. 1842.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

The 15 November 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons announced JS’s departure and Taylor’s appointment as editor of the newspaper. The issue also listed Taylor and Woodruff as the newspaper’s printers, anticipating that the printing office would soon legally change hands.
12

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

Despite the editorial change announced in the Times and Seasons, the Wasp continued to be published in
William Smith

13 Mar. 1811–13 Nov. 1893. Farmer, newspaper editor. Born at Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Lebanon, Grafton Co., New Hampshire, 1811; to Norwich, Windsor Co., 1813; and to Palmyra, Ontario Co., New York, 1816...

View Full Bio
’s name until the 10 December 1842 issue.
13

William Smith, “Valedictory,” and John Taylor, “Introductory,” Wasp, 10 Dec. 1842, [2].


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

Although
Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
and
Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
had already publicly taken responsibility for the
printing office

Located at four different sites from 1839–1846: cellar of warehouse on bank of Mississippi River, June–Aug. 1839; frame building on northeast corner of Water and Bain streets, Nov. 1839–Nov. 1841; newly built printing establishment on northwest corner of ...

More Info
in November, the process of formally leasing the office apparently did not begin until 2 December 1842. On that date, JS instructed
Willard Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

View Full Bio
and
Newel K. Whitney

3/5 Feb. 1795–23 Sept. 1850. Trader, merchant. Born at Marlborough, Windham Co., Vermont. Son of Samuel Whitney and Susanna Kimball. Moved to Fairfield, Herkimer Co., New York, 1803. Merchant at Plattsburg, Clinton Co., New York, 1814. Mercantile clerk for...

View Full Bio
to “take an apprisal of the printing Office” preparatory to leasing it to Taylor and Woodruff.
14

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

“Richards Family Letters 1840–1849.” Typescript. Richards Family Papers, 1965. CHL.

Richards and Woodruff spent the next several days in the office inventorying and appraising the property.
15

Richards, Journal, 2–4 Dec. 1842; Woodruff, Journal, 2–5 Dec. 1842.


Comprehensive Works Cited

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 inventory, which was copied into the lease, included the presses, type, furniture, and related instruments as well as the equipment and tools needed for bookbinding and stereotyping. According to the inventory, the printing office included three printing presses of various sizes.
16

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

Aside from the presses, much of the printing section of the inventory was dominated by the type owned by the printing office, itemized by font and size.
17

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.

Sometime between 8 and 10 December 1842,
Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
noted that he drafted “an article of agreement” to lease the
office

Located at four different sites from 1839–1846: cellar of warehouse on bank of Mississippi River, June–Aug. 1839; frame building on northeast corner of Water and Bain streets, Nov. 1839–Nov. 1841; newly built printing establishment on northwest corner of ...

More Info
from JS.
18

Woodruff, Journal, 8–10 Dec. 1842.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Presumably around that same time,
Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
made a copy of the lease with Woodruff’s and
Richards

24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813; to Chatham, Columbia Co...

View Full Bio
’s inventory of property in the office while making some corrections and additions to the inventory. The final lease gave Taylor and Woodruff control of the office for five years with payments of $200 due to JS twice annually. This copy was then signed by Taylor, Woodruff, and JS. Despite being finished sometime around 8–10 December, the lease was backdated to 1 December 1842.
Although the lease called for semiannual payments of $200 for rent, it is unclear whether or for how long these payments were made, and in mid-January 1844,
Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
and
Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
dissolved their partnership. An unsigned lease dated 23 January 1844 and contemporaneous journal entries indicate that JS apparently desired to sell the
printing office

Located at four different sites from 1839–1846: cellar of warehouse on bank of Mississippi River, June–Aug. 1839; frame building on northeast corner of Water and Bain streets, Nov. 1839–Nov. 1841; newly built printing establishment on northwest corner of ...

More Info
outright to Taylor around that time.
19

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

However, notations on a financial account between the printing office and JS suggest that the office was continuing to tabulate rent to JS and possibly his estate or later trustees-in-trust through 21 January 1846.
20

“No 5 Joseph Smiths a/c CR as pr Printing Office Books,” Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    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.

  2. [2]

    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.

  3. [3]

    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.

  4. [4]

    “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.

  5. [5]

    “To the Public,” Wasp, 8 Oct. 1842, [2], italics in original.

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

  6. [6]

    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.

  7. [7]

    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.

  8. [8]

    Advertisement, Times and Seasons, 1 Jan. 1841, 2:272.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  9. [9]

    Agreement with Ebenezer Robinson, 4 Feb. 1842.

  10. [10]

    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.

  11. [11]

    Woodruff, Journal, 7–12 Nov. 1842.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  12. [12]

    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.

  13. [13]

    William Smith, “Valedictory,” and John Taylor, “Introductory,” Wasp, 10 Dec. 1842, [2].

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

  14. [14]

    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.

  15. [15]

    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.

  16. [16]

    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.

  17. [17]

    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.

  18. [18]

    Woodruff, Journal, 8–10 Dec. 1842.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  19. [19]

    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.

  20. [20]

    “No 5 Joseph Smiths a/c CR as pr Printing Office Books,” Newel K. Whitney, Papers, BYU.

    Whitney, Newel K. Papers, 1825–1906. BYU.

Page 2

lease, for the abovementioned time, the privilege of printing, & publishing, the “Times and Seasons,” and the “Wasp”, or any other paper, with the priviledge of changing the names of these papers, at their descretion.
2

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

That they shall recive the subscription list, of the above named papers; & all monies coming by Post, or otherwise, for the use of the “Times and Seasons”, and the “Wasp,” or any other purpose connected with the
Printing Office

Located at four different sites from 1839–1846: cellar of warehouse on bank of Mississippi River, June–Aug. 1839; frame building on northeast corner of Water and Bain streets, Nov. 1839–Nov. 1841; newly built printing establishment on northwest corner of ...

More Info
; from the day and date of this instrument; together with all letters directed addressed, or intended, for the
Printing Office

Located at four different sites from 1839–1846: cellar of warehouse on bank of Mississippi River, June–Aug. 1839; frame building on northeast corner of Water and Bain streets, Nov. 1839–Nov. 1841; newly built printing establishment on northwest corner of ...

More Info
, from the day & date hereof.
And the said Joseph Smith does further agree, as heretofore mentioned, to let the said
John Taylor

1 Nov. 1808–25 July 1887. Preacher, editor, publisher, politician. Born at Milnthorpe, Westmoreland, England. Son of James Taylor and Agnes Taylor, members of Church of England. Around age sixteen, joined Methodist church and was local preacher. Migrated ...

View Full Bio
&
Willford Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
, have the free use of; & right and title to<​o​> the following articles, for the forementioned time.
Schedule.
$
1 Mammoth Press,
3

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

1 Rolling Frame,
4

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.

1 Double medium
5

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.

chase,
6

Chases were metal frames used to lock up the type for printing. (Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 1:308–309.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.

& 2 medium
7

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

Chases
275 00
1 Small Imperial Press,
8

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

1 Imperial Chase, 1 Super Royal
9

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

Chase, Rolling Frame, 2 Roll handles,
10

These are presumably wooden or metal handles for the ink rollers. (Rummonds, Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices, 2:539–549, 554–556.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.

& Cylenders—
11

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.

135 00
1 Bank
12

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Nineteenth-Century Printing Practices and the Iron Handpress. 2 vols. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library, 2004.

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
13

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

39½ lbs deduct 18 lbs for Cases 21½ @ ,15
3 32
2 Cases old Cincinatti
14

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

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—
15

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.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

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.

2 00
10 Boxes 50 cts each— 5 00
4 Stoves & pipe 40 31
126 32
[p. 2]
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Page 2

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Lease to John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff, between 8 and 10 December 1842
ID #
1993
Total Pages
6
Print Volume Location
JSP, D11:262–276
Handwriting on This Page
  • John Taylor

Footnotes

  1. [2]

    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.

  2. [3]

    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.

  3. [4]

    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.

  4. [5]

    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.

  5. [6]

    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.

  6. [7]

    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.

  7. [8]

    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.

  8. [9]

    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.

  9. [10]

    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.

  10. [11]

    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.

  11. [12]

    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.

  12. [13]

    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.

  13. [14]

    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.

  14. [15]

    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.

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