An extremely rare broadsheet printing of the Constitution - photo 1
An extremely rare broadsheet printing of the Constitution - photo 2

An extremely rare broadsheet printing of the Constitution

Starting price
$ 200 000
Auction dateClassic
17.01.2024 11:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1119110
Lot 118 | An extremely rare broadsheet printing of the Constitution
An extremely rare broadsheet printing of the Constitution

September or October 1787

UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION – Proceedings of the Federal Convention. We, the People of the United States. in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, secure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. [n.p., c. September-October 1787.]



An almost unique contemporary broadsheet edition of the Constitution. It includes the text of all seven articles, plus the Congressional act submitting the Constitution for ratification by the state conventions, signed in type by George Washington as President of the Constitutional Convention. Not in Evans, Sabin or any of the standard bibliographical sources. We are aware of only one other copy of this printing, which is without imprint or other indication of its place of printing (that copy sold in these rooms, 15 December 2005, lot 222).



Immediately following the adoption of the newly drafted Constitution on 17 September 1787, the full text was prepared for general dissemination. The official printers to the Convention, Dunlap and Claypoole, working in the late afternoon and early evening, set the text in type, together with the accompanying resolutions of the Convention and letter to Congress, and then printed an unknown number of copies. In addition, the printers prepared a special issue of the Pennsylvania Packet containing the same text. "Newspapers throughout the United States soon printed the Constitution in special issues, handbills and pamphlets" (Bernstein, Are We to be a Nation?, p. 186). The rapidity with which the text was disseminated may be seen in the separate imprints listed in Evans and elsewhere. "Printers all over America...followed on during the next two weeks, several of them publishing special editions to inform, comfort or shock their readers. Delegates sent off copies in every direction...and by early November it was a lonely or uncaring American, whether a merchant in Paris or a trapper in the Kickapoo country, who had not read the proposed Constitution" (C. Rossiter, 1787: The Grand Convention, pp.257-258).



Folio broadsheet, 427 x 270mm with one-line heading in large type, text in four columns, the sheet untrimmed, with original deckle edges preserved, contemporary marginalia, (minor losses along folds mended with thread and reinforced with archival tissue on verso, mild dampstains, light soiling). Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 13 December 2000, lot 209.

Category:Broadsheet
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
12.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
13.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
14.01.2024 13:00 – 17:00
15.01.2024 13:00 – 17:00
16.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.