Crandall Printing Musuem

I absolutely loved my visit to the Crandall Printing Museum. It was fascinating to not only learn about, but also to actually see the development and progression of printing. There is no doubt in my mind how essential the Lord’s hand was in bringing about this process.

I am amazed by the patience and determination of Gutenberg. As Mr. Crandall and his two partners shared with us their knowledge of the development of the printing press, it became clear to me what a process it really was. He initially used the model of an olive press, and just adapted it for his purposes. He then had to develop a metal alloy that was soft enough to carve out the letters of the print type, yet firm enough to retain their shape. As he came up against problem after problem, Gutenberg just kept resolving the issues with new inventions and further developments. For example, the ink used by scribes for centuries was a thin, runny liquid that definitely wasn’t suitable for the metal blocks of the printing press. As a result, Gutenberg developed an ink with the viscosity that allowed it to be sticky enough to copy from the molded metal type face to the paper. As a further extension, he also developed a means by which to apply the ink evenly to the set frames of type. The recent development of paper was a miracle in and of itself.

Gutenberg set up six printing presses, and trained a full crew to man each one. This of course required his going into a significant amount of debt, and even the eventual loss of his presses. Why was he so determined to initiate this industry on such a vast scale? I personally feel he was divinely inspired. The result of his six printing presses were six trained teams of individuals who could then set up and run their own printing presses. This, of course, led to the rapid expansion of printing in the Western World. I am so grateful for Gutenberg’s drive and patience.

Availability of printed material had a dramatic impact on the Western World. Moving forward about 380 years from Gutenberg’s initial invention, Mr. Crandall and his associates then showed us into the next room. This room contained a replica of a printing press identical to that of which Ben Franklin would have used. By this time, the invention of the printing press itself had changed very little. The widespread significance of the printing industry by this time completely transformed society and the role of the individual within it. It was amazing to be able to touch the actual blocks set to print the original Declaration of Independence. Printing had such an important influence on the American Revolution, particularly through pamphlets such as Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.

We then continued on into an adjacent room. It was set up exactly as E. B. Granden’s printing shop in Palmyra, New York in 1829. I listened in awe as Mr. Crandall described the entire process by which the Book of Mormon was first set in type, printed, and bound. The copied manuscript, transcribed by Oliver Cowdery, had no punctuation. The man who set the type had to do so, inserting the proper punctuation as he went. Sixteen pages could be printed at one time. Apprentices of replacing each letter block into its proper box. The time it took to print and bind those first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon averages out to those boys pulling the lever for that press about once every two minutes. Mr. Crandall allowed us to try and pull the lever: it’s extremely heavy! He told us there is no logical way that many books could have been printed in such a short amount of time. It’s impossible. But the Book of Mormon needed to be ready for the reorganization of the church on April 6, 1830, and it was.

Just as Mr. Crandall, I have a very strong testimony that the development and progression of the printing press was fundamental to the Restoration of the Gospel. I’m so grateful for the incredible learning opportunity I was granted in being able to visit the Crandall Printing Museum.