Declaration(s) of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was drafted, debated, and signed at the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall in 1776. Using an inkstand made by Phillip Syng in 1752, the 56 delegates signed their names into history and became America's Founding Fathers. While the original copy is held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., INHP preserves invaluable copies that tell the story of how the document influenced generations of Americans over the last 250 years.

Measuring roughly 24 by 30 inches, the Stone engraving captures both the scale and artistry of the Engrossed copy with remarkable accuracy by preserving the original text and signatures as they appeared before time took its toll.  Today, the Stone engraving stands as the defining image of the Declaration for modern Americans as it is widely featured in history books, displayed in public spaces, and has been reproduced on countless souvenirs.

Copies of the Stone engraving were made throughout the 19th century. In 1833, Peter Force was authorized by Congress to produce copies from Stone's copperplate for use in his voluminous history book, American Archives. Another copy, known as the Anastatic Facsimile, was printed in 1846 using a process that required contact between a document, like the Stone engraving, and an acid-prepared printing plate. Only three Anastatic copies are known to survive, including one at INHP.

Stylistic printings of the Declaration were popular throughout the 19th century. The Franklin Print Company printed the Declaration of Independence with facsimiles of the signatures and likenesses of the signers in 1838 (left). Charles Toppan designed an engraving of the Declaration surrounded by arms of the 13 original colonies and portraits of Washington and Jefferson on either side of the Great Seal of the United States (right).

Philadelphia's Public Ledger newspaper published a copy of the Declaration in their annual New Year's greeting to subscribers in 1859 that included the painting, "Declaration" by John Trumbull and images of Presidents Washington through Buchanan. (left). In 1865, Morris Swander introduced a new level of creative license by using the Declaration's text to create a crude resemblance of Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Washington in 1865 (right).

Rosenthal's chromolithograph portraits of the signers were based on portraits once displayed in Charles Willson Peale's Philadelphia Museum on the second floor of Independence Hall, the National Museum at Independence Hall, and those in other public and private collections.  Many of these portraits are now displayed in the portrait gallery at the Second Bank of the United States.

Throughout the 20th century, the Declaration of Independence became a popular historical memento at American historic sites, including Independence National Historical Park. In addition to owning your own copy of America's foundational document, you could also purchase any number of keepsakes imprinted with the words that inspired a nation. This alarm clock produced by Elgin Company shows a reimagining of Binns 1819 Declaration topped by the Liberty Bell. Now that's waking up to history!