Printing in Deseret : Mormons, economy, politics & Utah's incunabula, 1849-1851 : a history and descriptive bibliography / Richard L. Saunders.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Saunders, Richard L., 1963-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--History--19th century.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--Bibliography--Catalogs.

Printing--Utah--History--19th century.

Printing.

Printing--Political aspects--Utah--History--19th century.

Latter Day Saint churches--History--19th century.

Latter Day Saint churches.

Latter Day Saint churches--Bibliography--Catalogs.

Utah--Imprints--Catalogs.

Utah.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (231 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, Utah : University of Utah Press, c2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Utah's first printing press arrived in Salt Lake Valley in 1849, barely two years after the first settlers. Purchased by printer W.W. Phelps at the behest of Mormon leaders, the press was initially the church's private venture, a social tool used to re-establish print communication -- and thus foster cohesiveness -- among the reassembling church membership after the Mormons' hasty flight from Nauvoo, Illinois. It also became a tool to project political interests onto the national stage. The first document produced was a general communique to the church at large. Written by Willard Richards and approved by Brigham Young, the "Second General Epistle" was committed to print by that leader's nephew, Brigham H. Young, on October 20, 1849. Other early jobs included the second printing of the Constitution of the State of Deseret, part of the first, unsuccessful statehood bid; the materials related to chartering the University of Deseret, the first institution of higher learning west of the Mississippi (now the University of Utah); and the first issues of the Deseret News, a newspaper conceived as the Mormon Church's voice to the outside world. Printing in Deseret is a concise narrative history of the advent of printing in the state, and of the earliest printed documents, or incunabula, created during the initial settlement years. It also includes a bibliographic history of the press, chronicling more than fifty printed items, most never before described. It will appeal to all those interested in Western Americana and the settling of the Great Basin.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

A History of Printing and Deseret

A Press for Deseret

The Press in Deseret

Afterword

A Descriptive Catalogue of Utah's Earliest Imprints

Concerning Bibliographic Descriptions

Deseret Imprints of 1849

Deseret Imprints of 1850

Utah Imprints of 1851

Ephemeral Ephemera

Printing on a Handpress

Works Cited

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 200-205) and index.

ISBN:

1-60781-816-7

OCLC:

70765032