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Joseph Smith Holding the Bible Joseph Smith Holding the Bible

Sutcliffe Maudsley (1809–1881)
Pen–and–ink on paper, 1844


These companion portraits were found inserted in the cover pages of a book entitled The Autobiography and Poems of George Washington Johnson. There are two major differences between these portraits and the full–standing profile versions Maudsley usually made—they are half–length portraits and both figures hold a book of scripture. These portraits may have been the originals used to make copies of similar commemorative pieces showing Joseph and Hyrum holding scriptures.

Courtesy L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Libary, Brigham Young University