DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 'IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776, THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA'. WASHINGTON: ENGRAVED BY W. J. STONE, 1833 (ISSUED BY PETER FORCE, 1848)

Engraved folio broadside on rice paper (30 1/8 x 25 1/8 in.; 765 x 638 mm); lightly creased from previous folding, faintest offsetting. Float-matted, framed, and glazed. 

see Kaller, 'America's National Treasure: The Declaration of Independence & William J. Stone's Official Facsimile' (2014)

Engraved folio broadside on rice paper (30 1/8 x 25 1/8 in.; 765 x 638 mm); lightly creased from previous folding, faintest offsetting. Float-matted, framed, and glazed.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.

An unusually fine copy on paper of the Declaration of Independence printed from the W. J. Stone copperplate. After completing his commission from the Department of State to produce 200 copies of the facsimile on vellum, Stone was engaged to provide copies on paper for inclusion in Peter Force's documentary survey 'American Archives'. Stone's original imprint was effaced and replaced with a smaller legend in the lower left: "w.j.stone sc. washn." Although 1,500 copies of the Force imprint were authorized by Congress, subscriptions were few and perhaps only 500 were issued. While the paper issue was printed in 1833, copies were not actually distributed until 'American Archives' was published in 1848.