Blog #87
By Kevin V. Hunt
Through many blog articles, I have been teasing you, my readers, with news of coming books of photo images of Nauvoo. The day has come. The two books are now complete and available for your perfect enjoyment now and forever! I am excited to share them with you.
First an introductiion – and then variious link options for the books will be presented.
INTRODUCTION:
Nauvoo is in my blood. I feel it all over and every day. My first introduction to Nauvoo was when I was called to serve there as a young missionary – back in 1975. Wow! That was a while ago. Anyway, as I was there, I served as a site guide missionary. I took people on tours of the then restored homes. Those homes and shops included the homes of Brigham Young, Lucy Mack Smith, Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball, Jonathan Browning, the John Taylor Home and the Times and Seasons building. the 70’s Hall, and the Webb Blacksmith Shop. There were also tours of the Carthage Jail but I did not take tours through there – though I did get to visit the sacred place.
It was glorious to serve in these special places. As I served in each place, I felt the Spirit. I felt the spirit of the home itself and the spirit through the lives of the early Saints whom we talked of in their homes. I tried even back in 1975 to capture photos of as many Nauvoo historic places, old homes, shops, and monuments. Those were glorious days!
Over the years, my family and I have had many opportunities to return to Nauvoo. And on each visit, I have again felt the Spirit in those special places. And that spirit has been planted deep into my heart. I never tire of returning again, and again as I have opportunity to do so.
Then in 2024 and 2025, my wife, Lou and I had the magnificent blessing of being able to serve in Nauvoo for 18 months as site guides in the historic Nauvoo homes and shops. Wow! Who gets to go back to serve again in their old mission? Over the years, things have changed a great deal in Nauvoo. Instead of the nine historic homes and shops, there are now thirty or so. Wow! This is so amazing and wonderful. Restoration has been at work through the years.
As a senior couple serving in Nauvoo historic sites – for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in the Illinois Historic Sites Mission, our assignments rotated daily – such that we went to six different homes to serve as guides in any given week. And over the course of a month or so (with some repetition) we got to serve in all the homes. We learned and presented the scripts for each. And it was pure joy to welcome our many guests (19,625 just on tours by Sister Hunt and me) and to share with Nauvoo visitors the homes and shops themselves, but also to tell about the lives and the faith of those who lived in them back in the 1840’s.
Change? Yes, I have certainly seen a lot of change in those 50 years. It has been wonderful to see how the homes that I knew and served in back in 1975 are still there. In many cases, even the furniture on display is the same. It has been exciting to tour, view and guide guests through all the new places. Together, these historic places create a magnificent and composite view of our Pioneer ancestors who helped to create and build the original Nauvoo community from 1839 to 1846.
And once again in 2024 and 2025, my wife and I (together) continued to take photos everywhere we went. That became a focus of our mission. We were, in fact, called to serve as the Historians for the mission and this increased our photo taking dramatically. And now, looking back, I see this as a great blessing to us, our large family, the missionaries with whom we served, and hopefully now to the world.
This book is a combination of photos from three sources: the 1975 mission, the 2024/5 mission, and the addition of vintage photos of places (as found though extensive research on the internet). Together the photos (an estimated 2,000 or more of them) document places as they have existed from the originals (built from 1839 through 1846) in 1975, and their progression through 50 modern years. The progression is amazing and beautiful.
Miraculously this book contains photos of virtually EVERY room from EVERY restored home and shop of Nauvoo. Though Sister Hunt (now “Lou”) and I worked at it intentionally, as we now look back it is quite amazing that we were able to accomplish this task. We hope that through them, you – all of you – might enjoy and appreciate the sacred and beautiful places of Nauvoo. And with the plethora of photos collected, we can say with great probability that this is perhaps THE MOST COMPLETE Nauvoo photo documentation ever collected and shown together in a single place or collection. It is our great pleasure to present it to you and we hope that you will enjoy it and feel for the first time – or again – the Spirit of Nauvoo.
I note that as the photos attest, some rooms and places look just the same as in former times, but many have changed. Some are staged differently now than “back then” and it may be that the rooms and furnishings will continue to change. The sites and rooms are all under the direction of the Church History Department and the folks there continue to study and evaluate the various displays. And as they feel appropriate, current staging of artifacts may change in the future. But the photos of this book do show historical evolvement of artifacts over time. They help us imagine the Pioneer families and the lives that they lived.
So, here you/we have the greatest historical Nauvoo photo collection ever. The photos are beautiful and amazing but photos alone are not enough to really see and feel Nauvoo. Your feelings about Nauvoo can go beyond just this “bunch of photos”. To really feel Nauvoo through this collection, one (all or any of us) need to also truly try to have and feel the Nauvoo spirit in our perusal of the photos. Much of the Nauvoo Spirit is actually that – the witness of the Holy Ghost touching our minds and hearts. That is what we feel when we visit Nauvoo in person. Without that Spirit with us, these are just a bunch of pictures – a great addition to your living room tables. This may sound strange, but before you embark upon this book adventure – and each time that you pick it up for more – we suggest that you might also wish to include prayer so that you can know and feel – and truly live the lives of these faithful prophets – and ordinary people – our ancestors who lived and sacrificed their daily lives to give us the beautiful lives that we experience today. And with that Spirit – combined with the photos – you can experience a great treasure – individually or as a family.
TWO PHOTO BOOKS OF NAUVOO NOW AVAILABLE
There are two separate books and they have been created to be presented, viewed, and purchased (if you wish) together. They are companion volumes.
The first book is “The Comprehensive Nauvoo Photo History of Homes, Shops, and Experiences”. This special photo book contains photographs of literally EVERY inside room in EVERY Nauvoo restored home and shop – as well as other experiences. This is the first time that such a book has been created and made available to everyone with an interest in Nauvoo.
As noted, the book contains Nauvoo 1975 photos, current (2024/5) photos, as well as vintage photos as found on the internet. Also included is a historicdal introduction of each home and the people who lived there. This book is 400 pages and contains an estimated 2,000 or more photo images.
The second book is “Majestic and Stunning Photos of Nauvoo”. This photo book contains mostly exterior landscape photos including stunning images of Nauvoo flowers, gardens, fairy gardens, landscaping around historic homes, the Mississippi River, and sunsets and sunrises.
This book is 222 pages and contains an estimated 1,200 or more photo images.
Most of the photographs were taken by my wife, Lou, and me. And other great photos (too good to not include) were taken by our various children as they visited Nauvoo with us.
Again, the two books are meant to be companion volumes. Together they portray Nauvoo in all it’s glory – both inside and outside. And together they can be a living memory of the beauty and feelings one experiences when in Nauvoo. And for folks who have not yet experienced Nauvoo, the books can be an introductiion to the special and sacred place with the hope that you might be able to visit there to expeerience it for yourself.
BOOK LINK OPTIONS FOR PURCHASE, PDF VIEWING AND E-BOOK ENJOYMENT
The two books are available in a variety of options. I am presenting to you PDF file links to both books.
I am also providing links for book purchasing on Lulu.com. Sadly, the books are rather expensive – more so than I would wish. This is because both books are printed in the Deluxe Color option since the books are almost entirely photo images.
Both books are also available as E-Book options for easy viewing on your phone and devices.
NAUVOO LANDSCAPE BOOK LINK:
LULU BOOK LINK:
FREE PDF FILE:
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:4a2533d4-adfc-4ecb-9db8-6debab0a104a
LULU E-BOOK LINK FOR PURCHASE:
https://www.lulu.com/account/projects/nvrkknm
COMPREHENSIVE NAUVOO PHOTO HISTORY OF HOMES, SHOPS AND EXPERIENCES
LULU BOOK LINK
FREE PDF FILE:
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:022786bd-fe4a-4432-b826-af61b187561e
LULU E-BOOK LINK FOR PURCHASE:
OTHER NAUVOO BOOKS BY KEVIN HUNT
This might be a good time to also list all Nauvoo books that I have created. Here is the comprehensive list … and these books are all available on lulu.com in one or more formats. I would also be willing to send you any of the books in a free PDF format. Just send me a text or e-mail message request (with your e-mail address) and I’ll send it to you immediately.
Thanks for your ongoing interest in my many blog articles and in the books that I have compiled. I have had your interest in mind and at heart in the creation of each book. I have sought the inspiration of the Holy Ghost in the production of each book and am very grateful for His inspiration and assistance. It is only through His help that these books and blogs have been created.
Happy to have been on the Nauvoo trail!
Kevin Hunt
On the Nauvoo Trail 