In Congress, July 4, 1776. The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

Published by Washington, DC: W. J. Stone, Sc. [engraved 1823, printed by Peter Force in 1833]

About this Item

First printing on paper of the first official facsimile of the founding document of the United States, preceded only by the printing on vellum for private distribution. The facsimile was commissioned by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams in 1820. Two entrepreneurs, John Binns and Benjamin Owen Tyler, had recently independently produced their own cruder facsimiles. Quincy Adams desired an official and accurate facsimile made directly from the original. He hired the Washington printer William J. Stone, who spent three years creating the plate. Stone used the wet ink transfer method - the original document was moistened and pressed to transfer the ink onto the plate, which was then engraved directly. This procedure removed much of the ink from the original document and caused considerable degradation of the paper, leading to its near-illegibility by the middle of the 19th century. The plate was completed in June 1823 and sold to the State Department, who that year printed 200 copies on vellum and distributed them to official repositories, prominent individuals, and the few surviving signers of the Declaration. In 1833, the State Department authorized a second printing from the historian and printer Peter Force. These copies were to be inserted into the publication known as the American Archives, a 20-volume compilation of legislative records and documents. Force erased the original imprint from the plate and printed it on fine rice paper as close in colour and texture to the original parchment as possible. Because the original document is now so deteriorated (in part due to the method by which the engraving was made), it is Stone's engraving which is commonly used, often silently, where the Declaration is illustrated in books and media. Broadside (753 x 640 mm) on rice paper, mounted and framed with conservation-standard acrylic glazing. Folds and slight offsetting where formerly inserted into book as issued, a few splits along folds and extremities, light creasing, very discreet restoration to closed tears at foot. A very good copy.

Seller Inventory # 172649

Bibliographic Details

• Title: In Congress, July 4, 1776. The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America.
• Publisher: Washington, DC: W. J. Stone, Sc. [engraved 1823, printed by Peter Force in 1833]
• Edition: 1st Edition