The History Buff, Inc. - Phone: (952) 937-0325
17509 Bearpath Trail, Eden Prairie, MN 55347 or Palm Beach, FL, 33480
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This facsimile was recreated from a first Dunlap broadside printing of the Declaration of Independence called the "Lost Copy". which was discovered in 1968 on the dusty shelves of Leary's Book Store in Philadelphia during the closing of that establishment after 132 years in business; it may have languished there in storage for more than 100 years. The " Lost Copy" was purchased at auction by Dallas business executives Ira G. Corn, Jr., and Joseph P. Driscoll for $404,000 in 1970. The document was first restored and then R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company, The Lakeside Press was commissioned to produce a limited set of facsimiles with every detail from the type of paper to the type of printing being as faithful as possible to the original . The Corn broadside was then acquired by City of Dallas in 1978. Facsimile copies were given to a few close friends ad institutions by Mr. Corn but with time the existence of these facsimiles was forgotten until the remining cache of them, stll in the Donnelly wrapper, was discovered in a used book store by the current owner. In a sense history has repeated itself and the remaining facsimiles could also be thought of as the formerly "Lost Copies."
Other characteristics of this facsimile (just like the original
it was cloned from):
* One of these facsimiles was featured by the Freedom Train on
its nation wide tour from April 1975 - December 1976 and was
seen in 76 cities in the 48 contiguous states during the Bi-Centennial
celebration.
*
Heavy paper containing horizontal chain lines - Ira G. Corn wanted
to have a facsimile produced on similar paper and as exact as
possible. No expense was spared to create this realistic facsimile.
Special paper was used which was almost identical to that used
by John Dunlap in printing the original Declaration. The 1776
print was done on a hand letter press with heavy impressions
that slightly embossed the type on the paper. The Lakeside Press
matched the method on a modern letter press.
* A slight wrinkled appearance
in the lower left corner.
* Worn edges along the top and sides - this facsimile was die-cut
to match the rough and slightly worn edges of the original Dunlap
Broadside.
* Stains and aging marks just like the original - to match the
color of the aged original paper and to create the same stains,
a deep-toned offset in three special colors were used.
* The back of this facsimile matches the back of the original
- the facsimile is so real that the only difference on the back
is a statement declaring that it is a copy, to prevent confusion
on the part of potential collectors.
*Exact size as the original; approximately 15-1/2" X 19"
(slight variation which matches the original due to its age)
- the die-cut process copied the slight deviation from a perfectly
rectangular sheet of paper.
There is supporting material that will accompany the facsimile including auction information about the broadside that was used to create the facsimile.
As far as we know, this is the only facsimile that was ever made of the Dunlap broadside that was recreated using the same paper and printing methods as the original and it would make a beautiful and important display piece and should be archivally framed in order to preserve it. It is unlikely that another facsimile will ever be made due to the current value of the original broadsides one of which brought 8 million dollars at auction recently.We have access to the only know small cache of these remaining facsimiles.
When the Second Continental Congress
met in June of 1776, Americans were already fighting the most
awesome military power since the Roman Empire for over a year
and a menacing British fleet was bearing down on New York. In
the long history of the British Empire no colony had fought and
won a war of independence against Great Britain. However, despite
the odds and knowing full well history was not on their side,
the delegates felt that they finally needed to issue a Declaration
of Independency as per a resolution of June 7th submitted by
Richard Henry Lee . On June 12th Thomas Jefferson was designated
to draft the document at the suggestion of John Adams and Benjamin
Franklin. Of course, the D of I went through several drafts some
of which are preserved at various locations. But Jefferson's
original draft does not exist in its entirety although portions
of it have been recreated in part from the notes of John Adams.
During drafting process which took 22 days there was of course
much debate about wording but eventually a "Fair Copy"
and the "Final Version" of the Declaration of Independence
that we know today emerged late in the afternoon on July 4th,
1776 when twelve of the thirteen colonies reached agreement to
declare the new states as a free and independent nation: New
York was the lone holdout. That evening President of the
Continental Congress John Hancock ordered Philadelphia printer
John Dunlap to print broadside copies of The Declaration that
was signed by Hancock as President and Charles Thomson as Secretary
(AN EXACTING FACSIMILE OF A BROADSIDE DOCUMENT IS ILLUSTRATED
ABOVE). In a sense the Dunlap Broadside is THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE
OF OUR NATION. Dunlap
is thought to have printed around 200 Broadsides which were distributed
to the members of Congress and throughout the colonies by horsemen.
General Washington received his copy in New York where he read
it to his troops. The copy delivered to Washington is now in
The Library of Congress The following link is to an image of
ONE OF THE ORIGINAL ' Dunlap Broadsides.'
The original Broadsides varied slightly in size but averaged approximately 15 in x 19 in and they were of course printed on chain laid paper.Dunlap deserves special credit for printing the Declaration because by doing so he committed an act of sedition and could have been hanged as could all 56 of the signers.
Note: Today there are only 25 of these broadsides that
are known to exist. The original Declaration of Independence
that was signed by John Hancock and Charles Thomson on July 4,
1776 is lost. A Dunlap broadside - unsigned, as it is known,
recently sold for $8.14 million in 2000, the highest price ever
achieved for an object sold at an Internet auction. It was purchased
by entertainment mogul Norman Lear.This copy was discovered in
1989 by a man browsing in a flea market who purchased a painting
for four dollars because he was interested in the frame. Concealed
in the backing of the frame was an Original Dunlap Broadside
of the Declaration of Independence. The other copies of the Dunlap
broadside known to exist are dispersed among American and British
institutions and private owners. The following are the current
locations of 24 of the known copies.
Of course not only was Dunlap an
intrepid individual but so were all those 56 men who signed the
declaration at the risk of 'their lives, their fortunes and their
sacred honor.' Today those men often are just referred to as
'SIGNERS.'The first, largest, and most famous signature on the
Declaration was that of John Hancock, President of the Continental
Congress. The youngest signer was Edward Rutledge (age 26). Benjamin
Franklin (age 70) was the oldest. Two future presidents also
signed: John Adams (second President) and Thomas Jefferson (third
President).
PRICE:$695.00
| The History Buff - Authentic Historical Autographs & Collectibles 17509 Bearpath Trail, Eden Prairie, MN 55347 or Palm Beach, Florida 33480 |
eMail: thehistbuff@aol.com
Phone: 952-937-0325  |
