Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is the most important document in American History, some would say in World History. Passed by the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776 sitting in Philadelphia it officially severed the ties of allegiance between the thirteen colonies and King George III and his realm of Great Britain, and setting forth the case for the colonies right to be independent.
In the years since its approval, copies of the Declaration have become among the most important Americana collectibles. Skinners, a leading American auction house in Boston, has summarized the early history of these copies as follows:
“The Declaration was printed first and foremost as a means of disseminating the news that America had declared its independence from England,” notes Stuart Whitehurst, Director of Skinner’s Fine Books & Manuscripts department. “The first copies were printed by John Dunlap, a printer in Philadelphia. As copies of the document rolled off the press, they were quickly taken by riders on horseback ready to courier the news to small towns throughout the colonies, where in turn, local printers would print additional copies, continuing to spread the word throughout the countryside. The fifty-six signers of the Declaration risked their lives in doing so – this was an act of sedition, considered high treason against the King of England, punishable by death. It was equally dangerous to be a printer involved in printing copies of it. That’s partly the reason why many of the copies of the document bear no printer’s mark. The original handwritten Declaration, most likely penned by Thomas Jefferson’s own hand, was likely thrown away, though a partial draft version remains in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society.”
The official copy of the Declaration was engrossed on parchment and is now on display at the National Archives in Washington.
Reference note prepared by p4A editorial staff, September 2010.