Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Early Mormon Hymnal on Auction Block

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that a very rare, previously unknown and mint-condition copy of an 1835 Mormon hymnal will be auctioned at Christies today, with pre-sale estimates set at $200,000-$300,000. The hymnal was "edited" by Emma Smith, wife of LDS founder Joseph Smith, and none has come up for auction in several decades. Interestingly, this book - although presumably not this particular copy - played a role in the infamous Mark Hofman forgery case in the 1980s.

RBN also links.