Introduction
Tom Lingenfelter, a dealer in rare historical documents and artifacts in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, has discovered the truest copy of the 1776 engrossed (handwritten) Declaration of Independence. A rarity in its own right, this anastatic facsimile also sheds some light on how the Declaration obtained its current status as a faded remnant of its original glory.
To truly understand the evolution of the Declaration of Independence, how we view it today and the significance of Lingenfelter’s find, a review of the several methods used to spread the awareness of the document and its ground-breaking effects on the rights of man is in order.
To truly understand the evolution of the Declaration of Independence, how we view it today and the significance of Lingenfelter’s find, a review of the several methods used to spread the awareness of the document and its ground-breaking effects on the rights of man is in order.
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The Anastatic Facsimilie of the Declaration of Independence
The Original Engrossed Declaration
If we travel back in time to June 7, 1776, we would witness Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introducing a resolution in the Second Continental Congress “that these United States are and of right ought to be Free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved.”
On June 11th, Congress nominated a drafting committee of five under the direction of Thomas Jefferson, who drafted the Declaration along with John Adams (Massachusetts), Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania), Roger Sherman (Connecticut) and Robert Livingston (New York).
Over the course of three weeks, America’s elegant founding document was drafted among these five men. It was submitted to Congress for consideration on June 28th. On July 2nd there was a call for a vote. Twelve states voted “yes” with New York abstaining. On July 4th, after two days of vigorous debate and revision, Congress adopted the text of Declaration of Independence as we know it today.
On July 19th, Congress ordered an engrossed (handwritten) copy on vellum. It is believed Timothy Matlack, assistant to Secretary Charles Thomson, was the actual scribe who provided the final document to be signed by the representatives. By that time, Matlack was able to reflect the addition of New York’s affirmative vote on July 9th by titling the document “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.”
There is some question as to when all the final signatures were attached to this official engrossed copy. According to history books, many of them signed on August 2nd, but some hesitated before affixing their signatures at a later date. Their reluctance is understandable, considering that the document represented an act of treason, and in turn its signers would be branded as traitors to the Crown.
It is known that Thomas McKean of Pennsylvania was the last to affix his signature to the engrossed Declaration. An early official printing, ordered from Baltimore printer Mary Goddard in January, 1777, did not include McKeans name. McKean’s signature, possibly added as late as 1781, brought the final number of signers on the engrossed Declaration to 56.
Currently housed and displayed at the National Archives in Washington DC, the original engrossed Declaration is the most revered document in America, but its condition is quite diminished from its original glory. There is very little documentation of its condition over the years or how it came to be so diminished.
An audit performed by The National Academy of Sciences in 1891 asserted that the poor condition of the Declaration was attributed to attempts of a wet copy technique.
On June 11th, Congress nominated a drafting committee of five under the direction of Thomas Jefferson, who drafted the Declaration along with John Adams (Massachusetts), Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania), Roger Sherman (Connecticut) and Robert Livingston (New York).
Over the course of three weeks, America’s elegant founding document was drafted among these five men. It was submitted to Congress for consideration on June 28th. On July 2nd there was a call for a vote. Twelve states voted “yes” with New York abstaining. On July 4th, after two days of vigorous debate and revision, Congress adopted the text of Declaration of Independence as we know it today.
On July 19th, Congress ordered an engrossed (handwritten) copy on vellum. It is believed Timothy Matlack, assistant to Secretary Charles Thomson, was the actual scribe who provided the final document to be signed by the representatives. By that time, Matlack was able to reflect the addition of New York’s affirmative vote on July 9th by titling the document “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.”
There is some question as to when all the final signatures were attached to this official engrossed copy. According to history books, many of them signed on August 2nd, but some hesitated before affixing their signatures at a later date. Their reluctance is understandable, considering that the document represented an act of treason, and in turn its signers would be branded as traitors to the Crown.
It is known that Thomas McKean of Pennsylvania was the last to affix his signature to the engrossed Declaration. An early official printing, ordered from Baltimore printer Mary Goddard in January, 1777, did not include McKeans name. McKean’s signature, possibly added as late as 1781, brought the final number of signers on the engrossed Declaration to 56.
Currently housed and displayed at the National Archives in Washington DC, the original engrossed Declaration is the most revered document in America, but its condition is quite diminished from its original glory. There is very little documentation of its condition over the years or how it came to be so diminished.
An audit performed by The National Academy of Sciences in 1891 asserted that the poor condition of the Declaration was attributed to attempts of a wet copy technique.
Tom Lingenfelter
Richard Henry Lee
The Dunlap Copies
Once the Declaration’s text was revised into its final form on July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress commissioned its official printer, John Dunlap, to typeset and print copies. Dunlap, working from a corrected manuscript and supervised by the drafting committee, produced approximately 200 broadsides for distribution to the thirteen states and elsewhere.
Dunlap is believed to have worked feverishly on the night of July 4th to produce his broadsides so they could be posted and read aloud on July 5th to alert the citizenry of this momentous event in time. As John Adams later wrote, “We were all in haste.”
The Dunlap copies do not carry the same title of unanimity as the original engrossed copy due to New York’s abstention until July 9th. Instead, the Dunlap copies carry the title “In Congress July 4, 1776, A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America in General Congress Assembled.”
One of these Dunlap copies was reportedly delivered to George Washington at Valley Forge to be read aloud to the troops. Another, currently housed at Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, was donated to the park by the heirs of Colonel John Nixon, the man appointed by the sheriff of Philadelphia to read the Declaration aloud in the State House yard on July 8, 1776.
Only 25 Dunlap Copies are known to still exist. The last Dunlap copy sold at auction was offered by Sotheby's on eBay on June 29, 2000 and brought $8.14 million from collector Norman Lear, who partnered with Silicon Valley investor David Hayden. This copy made a tour of the country to allow Americans to view it.
Dunlap is believed to have worked feverishly on the night of July 4th to produce his broadsides so they could be posted and read aloud on July 5th to alert the citizenry of this momentous event in time. As John Adams later wrote, “We were all in haste.”
The Dunlap copies do not carry the same title of unanimity as the original engrossed copy due to New York’s abstention until July 9th. Instead, the Dunlap copies carry the title “In Congress July 4, 1776, A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America in General Congress Assembled.”
One of these Dunlap copies was reportedly delivered to George Washington at Valley Forge to be read aloud to the troops. Another, currently housed at Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, was donated to the park by the heirs of Colonel John Nixon, the man appointed by the sheriff of Philadelphia to read the Declaration aloud in the State House yard on July 8, 1776.
Only 25 Dunlap Copies are known to still exist. The last Dunlap copy sold at auction was offered by Sotheby's on eBay on June 29, 2000 and brought $8.14 million from collector Norman Lear, who partnered with Silicon Valley investor David Hayden. This copy made a tour of the country to allow Americans to view it.
John Dunlap
The Stone Copies
In 1820, in response to a wave of patriotism following the War of 1812 and in advance of the nation”s 50th birthday, John Quincy Adams commissioned Washington DC engraver William Stone to produce a facsimile of the original engrossed Declaration’s text and the 56 signatures of the members of the Continental Congress.
Stone required three years to complete his task and the results were a remarkably accurate engraved copper plate. History does not record his exact technique or methodology, but various rumors over the years included the employment of a tracking device, tracing and even a suspicion that Stone’s skills included those of a master forger.
A simpler answer, however, is much more likely. It is now widely accepted that Stone utilized carefully placed mirrors and his exemplary engraving skills in a painstakingly tedious process to create his printing plate. With the discovery of the Anastatic Declaration it is proven Stone was a master engraver as they are nearly identical.
Stone completed the engraving of the copper plate in 1823 and sold it to the State Department. A congressional resolution passed on May 26, 1824 ordered 200 copies on vellum to be distributed to official repositories, significant office holders and the surviving signers of the Declaration, including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Charles Carroll. Two copies were given to the Marquis d’Lafayette when he visited America in 1824.
At 24 x 30 inches, the Stone facsimile is very close to the original engrossed Declaration in size. At the top is a line that reads “Engraved by W.I. STONE for the Department of State by order of J.Q. Adams Secy of State July 4, 1823.” After the 1823 printing this imprint line was burnished off of the copperplate and a new imprint added bottom left, below the first column of signatures. ˇ”W. J. STONE WASHN.”
Later printings from the Stone copperplate are the same size but printed on paper, not parchment or vellum, and have the imprint bottom left. Even with this alteration, collectors still prize later Stone copies on vellum.
Stone's copperplate is currently in the National Archives in Washington DC.
Stone required three years to complete his task and the results were a remarkably accurate engraved copper plate. History does not record his exact technique or methodology, but various rumors over the years included the employment of a tracking device, tracing and even a suspicion that Stone’s skills included those of a master forger.
A simpler answer, however, is much more likely. It is now widely accepted that Stone utilized carefully placed mirrors and his exemplary engraving skills in a painstakingly tedious process to create his printing plate. With the discovery of the Anastatic Declaration it is proven Stone was a master engraver as they are nearly identical.
Stone completed the engraving of the copper plate in 1823 and sold it to the State Department. A congressional resolution passed on May 26, 1824 ordered 200 copies on vellum to be distributed to official repositories, significant office holders and the surviving signers of the Declaration, including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Charles Carroll. Two copies were given to the Marquis d’Lafayette when he visited America in 1824.
At 24 x 30 inches, the Stone facsimile is very close to the original engrossed Declaration in size. At the top is a line that reads “Engraved by W.I. STONE for the Department of State by order of J.Q. Adams Secy of State July 4, 1823.” After the 1823 printing this imprint line was burnished off of the copperplate and a new imprint added bottom left, below the first column of signatures. ˇ”W. J. STONE WASHN.”
Later printings from the Stone copperplate are the same size but printed on paper, not parchment or vellum, and have the imprint bottom left. Even with this alteration, collectors still prize later Stone copies on vellum.
Stone's copperplate is currently in the National Archives in Washington DC.
William Stone's copy
