The Declaration of Independence - photo 1

The Declaration of Independence

Lot 662
24.01.2025 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
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CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
ID 1362226
Lot 662 | The Declaration of Independence
Estimate value
$ 10 000 – 15 000
The Declaration of Independence
Peter Force, William Stone, 1833
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE – In Congress, July 4, 1776. The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America. When in the Course of Human Events... [Washington,] engraved by W.J. Stone (1823-1825), reprinted 1833 from the original copperplate, for Peter Force's American Archives (1837-1853) [traditionally mis-dated 1848].'

A fine copy of Peter Force's 1833 printing of the Declaration of Independence, from W.J. Stone's 1823 plate. In 1823, with the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaching, Congress commissioned Stone to produce a high-quality, actual-size replica of the original engrossed Declaration. The signatures of the 56 delegates were to be carefully copied. Stone spent two years perfecting the plate and after he had printed the 200 copies ordered, his original engraved plate remained with the Department of State. A decade later, Peter Force (1790-1868), historian, publisher and mayor of Washington D.C., conceived a massive 20-volume anthology entitled American Archives, containing copies of key letters, documents, and broadsides from the Revolutionary War. Congress agreed to fund an edition of 1,500 sets. For the project, Force arranged with the State Department to print 4,000 copies of the Declaration, from Stone's original copperplate, on fine, wove paper. Stone's imprint was neatly burnished out at the top of the plate and a discreet "W.J. STONE SC[ULPSIT] WASHN." added in the lower left quadrant.

Folio broadside, (770 x 660mm). (Clean vertical tear at top margin repaired on verso, small tear at bottom left not affecting text, one small spot of toning at center left, typical light offsetting and creases). [Together with:] Peter Force, American Archives: Fifth Series – A Documentary History of the United Sates of America... Washington: [Government Printing Office], 1848, Vol 1.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
24.01.2025 – 24.01.2025
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
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