The E.B. Grandin building is where the Book of Mormon was originally published. The church bought the original building and did restoration on part and built a visitor center around it. We learned about E.B. Grandon, who wasn't very old (maybe 25), and had just gotten a state-of-the-art printing press 5 months before. He originally said "no" to Joseph but then later changed his mind after friends convinced him that they wouldn't hold it against him for printing the book. It cost $3000 to print the first 5000 books. They originally sold for $1.75 and were reduced to $1.25. They were leather bound books which were much more expensive but Joseph wanted the books to look like the bible or other important books. They would print 16 pages as a time. It was tons of work and very tedious. Grandin sold his business about 5 years later and went on to other things. The original manuscript was kept by Joseph and Oliver made an exact copy to turn over to the printer. This visitor center focused on the purpose of the Book of Mormon and how many lives have been changed because of its words. There were some original copies at the visitor center along with some original artwork.
The back of the building.
Inside the original printing room.
This is how the main floor with books for sale on the shelves would look. Most books were paper-bound (see all the white books?) The bible and other important or significant books were leather bound (brown/tan).
Inside one of the rooms. The building was 3 stories.
A copy of the handwritten manuscript.
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