The Woodcuts were carved by Reuben Hedlock, a member there in Nauvoo. He also went west, and produced some there, I haven't traced every edition.
The picture the author shows at the top of the article has "ENG BY R HEDLOCK" in the small strip under the figures at the bottom. Same on my 1981 large print edition.
The same artist is credited on the No. 2 "Hypochephalus" in my large print edition, it inside the larger circle about 3/4 up the right hand side.
The 1981 large print of facimily No1, does not have Hadlock's credit, but I'm sure Hedlock did it. There was a different, less well done of #1 in my missionay triple dated 1958, but as soon as the missing Joseph Smith paper's scrolls were returned to the church, they saw that Hedlock's woodcut was far surperior, and started using it again since then, in succeeding printings that I've come across.
James ScottFebruary 8, 2022
A most remarkable treatise on the publishing of the Book of Abraham. It appears from the text that Wilford Woodruff carved the woodcuts of the facsimiles under the Prophet’s tutelage. As a teenager I wondered at the facsimiles and how they were reproduced for publishing. I wonder today if these wood blocks are in possession of the Church of Jesus Christ or if any of the printers prep pages are still extant?
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tfJanuary 28, 2026
The Woodcuts were carved by Reuben Hedlock, a member there in Nauvoo. He also went west, and produced some there, I haven't traced every edition. The picture the author shows at the top of the article has "ENG BY R HEDLOCK" in the small strip under the figures at the bottom. Same on my 1981 large print edition. The same artist is credited on the No. 2 "Hypochephalus" in my large print edition, it inside the larger circle about 3/4 up the right hand side. The 1981 large print of facimily No1, does not have Hadlock's credit, but I'm sure Hedlock did it. There was a different, less well done of #1 in my missionay triple dated 1958, but as soon as the missing Joseph Smith paper's scrolls were returned to the church, they saw that Hedlock's woodcut was far surperior, and started using it again since then, in succeeding printings that I've come across.
James ScottFebruary 8, 2022
A most remarkable treatise on the publishing of the Book of Abraham. It appears from the text that Wilford Woodruff carved the woodcuts of the facsimiles under the Prophet’s tutelage. As a teenager I wondered at the facsimiles and how they were reproduced for publishing. I wonder today if these wood blocks are in possession of the Church of Jesus Christ or if any of the printers prep pages are still extant?
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