Facsimile No. 3 printing plate reveals jackal head Anubis

[_Shulem]

Shulem and Dr. Peterson walk into a bar and seat themselves at a table.

A barperson asks Shulem what he will have. Shulem says he wants an answer as to whether a woodcutting from one of the Book of Abraham facsimiles was originally Anubis.

The barperson then asks Dr. Peterson what he wants. He orders a snifter of Mr. Pibb and a platter of cookies. Before leaving the barperson asks if there would be anything else. Peterson and Shulem look at each other then simultaneously ask if there is any Perfume on the jukebox. "No" replies the barperson, "but we do have an old Chipmunks Christmas song".

I love to rub Anubis's nose.

[_Shulem]

Roll the press, I have a new theory!



It could be a breakthrough in understanding more about the case of the missing jackal nose and how engraver Reuben Hedlock was not happy with Joseph Smith for making him chop out the snout.

Does anybody want to hear my new theory? It's earth shattering. I have evidence to support the theory.

[_Lemmie]

Roll the press, I have a new theory!



It could be a breakthrough in understanding more about the case of the missing jackal nose and how engraver Reuben Hedlock was not happy with Joseph Smith for making him chop out the snout.

Does anybody want to hear my new theory? It's earth shattering. I have evidence to support the theory.

I do! Let's hear it, Shulem.

[_Res Ipsa]

Me too!

[_Dr. Shades]

It could be a breakthrough in understanding more about the case of the missing jackal nose and how engraver Reuben Hedlock was not happy with Joseph Smith for making him chop out the snout.

You mean "muzzle?"

[Guest]

This is what I see.

Here's the original blown up a bit:


postimage org safe

This is the first Anubis head I see:



Here's the second Anubis head I see:



And this is the third, most obvious one I see:



- Doc

It would be amiss of me to not credit Doctor Cam for the original idea that is now pouring into my mind. But before I do, allow me to explain: I don't think Hedlock was happy about having to remove the snout. He knew it was the nose fitting to a jackal or canine beast. I don't think it bode well with him because it literally defaced his original artwork which was a faithful rendition of what was on the papyrus. The alteration deforms the character which was recreated or carved in good faith -- it was supposed to be a facsimile of the original. I suspect that Hedlock felt a certain degree of protest in chopping off the nose but he had no choice but to comply because the order came directly from Joseph Smith himself.

The first order of business in making the alteration was to make the first cut. That's the deep vertical curved hack directly in front of the face -- the sole purpose was to form the separation of the nose from the rest of the face. It's a deep cut! It was made with great force and Hedlock must have felt he was killing the beast in the moment of making that cut. The second order of business at hand was to remove the whole snout. The engraver used his instruments to remove the material. You can see there is a clear footprint of what was once a nose. It's glaringly obvious to anyone who has eyes to see.

The third order of business was to leave a special signature known only to the engraver in which the memory of the snout would forever remain on the lead plate as a testimonial although it would never be transferred by ink onto paper. I now refer to Doctor Cam's notations above. The teeth! I think that's exactly what those vertical gashes are. Hedlock used an engraver tool to swipe 5 (6?) teeth into the recessed area of where the mouth once was as if the beast was angry and his teeth and fangs were snarling at the fact that the snout had to be hacked off because Joseph Smith ordered it. I'm not saying that the original vignette had teeth, there may have been indications of such, but Hedlock created them to make a point.

You look at those gashes and you'll get the idea that they were made intentionally for a purpose. There simply isn't any reason they should exist. It doesn't match the rest of the recessed areas on the plate. Those marks serve to represents the teeth of a beast who is angry about losing his snout. The only person in the world who could have known this was Reuben Hedlock, but now we all know. It makes sense to me. It's a plausible working theory. It's the only thing I can come up with to make sense of the etching. What else could it be if it's not teeth?

OK. Well. There you have it. See for yourself:

THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPERS FACSIMILE NO. 3 PRINTING PLATE.

[_Shulem]

It would be amiss of me to not credit Doctor Cam for the original idea that is now pouring into my mind. But before I do, allow me to explain: I don't think Hedlock was happy about having to remove the snout. He knew it was the nose fitting to a jackal or canine beast. I don't think it bode well with him because it literally defaced his original artwork which was a faithful rendition of what was on the papyrus. The alteration deforms the character which was recreated or carved in good faith -- it was supposed to be a facsimile of the original. I suspect that Hedlock felt a certain degree of protest in chopping off the nose but he had no choice but to comply because the order came directly from Joseph Smith himself.

The first order of business in making the alteration was to make the first cut. That's the deep vertical curved hack directly in front of the face -- the sole purpose was to form the separation of the nose from the rest of the face. It's a deep cut! It was made with great force and Hedlock must have felt he was killing the beast in the moment of making that cut. The second order of business at hand was to remove the whole snout. The engraver used his instruments to remove the material. You can see there is a clear footprint of what was once a nose. It's glaringly obvious to anyone who has eyes to see.

The third order of business was to leave a special signature known only to the engraver in which the memory of the snout would forever remain on the lead plate as a testimonial although it would never be transferred by ink onto paper. I now refer to Doctor Cam's notations above. The teeth! I think that's exactly what those vertical gashes are. Hedlock used an engraver tool to swipe 5 (6?) teeth into the recessed area of where the mouth once was as if the beast was angry and his teeth and fangs were snarling at the fact that the snout had to be hacked off because Joseph Smith ordered it. I'm not saying that the original vignette had teeth, there may have been indications of such, but Hedlock created them to make a point.

You look at those gashes and you'll get the idea that they were made intentionally for a purpose. There simply isn't any reason they should exist. It doesn't match the rest of the recessed areas on the plate. Those marks serve to represents the teeth of a beast who is angry about losing his snout. The only person in the world who could have known this was Reuben Hedlock, but now we all know. It makes sense to me. It's a plausible working theory. It's the only thing I can come up with to make sense of the etching. What else could it be if it's not teeth?

OK. Well. There you have it. See for yourself:

THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPERS FACSIMILE NO. 3 PRINTING PLATE.

I don't mind having a conversation with myself seeing nobody else seems to care much about my hypothesis regarding the engraved marks being animal teeth. You all don't get it, but I do. But here's the thing: Either I'm damned brilliant or I simply have an imagination running wild. You get to decide for yourself. But, while doing so, be sure to ask yourself some questions:

1. What are those engraved marks so carefully -- methodically etched with precision spacing? Did something just happen to plop on the plate and make those gashes? Was it a single engraver's tool in shape like a miniature rake to remove material? If so, why only a single swipe in application for the whole plate?

2. What are the odds that the gashes would just so happen to fall on the exact spot on the plate where teeth would actually be located had the image had a proper jackal head? Also, they are positioned in the exact angle whereby any other angle (even in that very spot) would destroy my theory that Hedlock was marking teeth?

What are the odds? I think if you do the math you'll find the odds to be utterly astounding and may start to consider or entertain the idea that maybe, just maybe, Shulem is brilliant.

[_NorthboundZax]

Shulem, why do you think Hedlock left part of the Jackal ear?

[_Shulem]

Shulem, why do you think Hedlock left part of the Jackal ear?

That's a very good question, NorthboundZax. I'm glad you asked that. I'm guessing that Hedlock left it intact because it was easy to do, the alternative would have necessitated the need to install a human ear but as you can see, there is no room to do that. No room to carve a human ear. So, he allowed the canine ear to remain atop and figured it probably just blended well with the rest of the scene wherein the others had headgear, especially Hor who was adorned with a lotus and cone of incense.

[_Shulem]

2. What are the odds that the gashes would just so happen to fall on the exact spot on the plate where teeth would actually be located had the image had a proper jackal head? Also, they are positioned in the exact angle whereby any other angle (even in that very spot) would destroy my theory that Hedlock was marking teeth?

What are the odds? I think if you do the math you'll find the odds to be utterly astounding

THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPERS FACSIMILE NO. 3 PRINTING PLATE

Okay, click the link above and look at the empty recessed area to the far left, the column just below the screw used to hold the plate down on a wood block. Survey the area for that single column. I conservatively estimated that there are 45 horizontal spots in that column where the teeth could have been inserted. There are 54 vertical spots. And considering the circumference needed to include 45 degree angles (2 per area) there are 22 additional opportunities wherein the teeth would appear but not be aligned for the mouth of a snout.

Total odds are 1 in 121!

I conservatively estimate that considering the rest of the unused recessed areas there is a total of roughly 1,000 ways and places in which the teeth could have been etched. So what are the odds? 1 in 1,000!

Think about that.