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[DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE]. ...
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Description
The extremely rare first broadside edition of the Declaration of Independence printed in Massachusetts -- the very fine Philip D. Sang copy -- one of only six recorded copies and only one of two in private hands
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal"
[DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE]. In Congress, July 4, 1776.
A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of
America, in General Congress Assembled. When in the course of human
events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the
political bands which have connected them with another, and to
assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal
station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle
them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that
they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness... Signed by Order and in Behalf of the
Congress, John Hancock, President. Attest, Charles Thompson
[sic], Secretary.Folio broadside, 16.75 x 13.625 inches (425 x 347 mm). [Salem, MA: Ezekiel Russell (or John Rogers at Russell's printing office), circa July 14-16, 1776]. Printed in four columns on unwatermarked laid paper, with deckled edges preserved on three sides.
The exceptionally rare first broadside printing of the Declaration of Independence in Massachusetts, the birthplace of the American Revolution.
All July 1776 broadside printings (meant to disseminate news by being read, shared, and posted) of the Declaration are rare and valuable, but this example is exceptionally so. This is the only contemporary broadside printing of the Declaration set in four columns, and evidently produced not by government decree but for public consumption. Only six copies of this broadside edition are recorded: two in private collections (including the present copy) and four in institutions (Harvard University, Georgetown University, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Peabody Essex Museum). The only other copy in private hands, the James S. Copley-William S. Reese copy, sold at Christie's on May 25, 2022 for $2,100,000.
At the end of his life, Thomas Jefferson wrote that the Declaration was intended ''to be an expression of the American mind,'' reflecting ''the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion'' (letter to Henry Lee, May 8, 1825). After authorizing the writing of the Declaration and approving the text submitted by Thomas Jefferson, the Continental Congress took steps to ensure its rapid dissemination. Once the approved text was adopted on July 4, 1776, Congress directed that copies ''be sent to the several Assemblies, Conventions & Committees or Councils of Safety and that it be proclaimed in each of the United States.''
John Dunlap, the official printer to Congress, spent the evening of July 4, 1776 setting a manuscript copy of the Declaration in type. Finished copies were pulled and delivered to Congress the morning of July 5, for distribution that day. While the number of copies printed is unknown, it has been speculated that Dunlap may have printed between 500 and 1,000 copies of his broadside. Whatever the number printed, the Dunlap broadside did not meet the demand of the American population eager to receive word of the monumental news.
As copies of this first printing were distributed throughout the thirteen colonies, they were also utilized as copy texts for local printers, who produced their own broadside editions to fulfill public demand. These were printed in Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. During this same time period, the Declaration was being reprinted in many regional newspapers, appearing in over thirty before the end of the month.
The present copy almost certainly constitutes the first broadside printing of the Declaration in Massachusetts. Of the thirteen broadside editions of the Declaration of Independence printed during July and August 1776, five bear no imprints, and this is the only edition set into four columns. In his 1949 study, Michael Walsh attributed this edition to Salem printer Ezekiel Russell, who printed the official Massachusetts broadside a little later in Salem (Walsh 13).
However, recent study has shown that the present broadside is printed from the exact setting of type used for the printing of the Declaration in the July 16 issue of the American Gazette, printed by John Rogers in Ezekiel Russell's shop in Salem. The text in the Gazette occupies the full three columns of the first page and the first column and a quarter of the fourth page. The type was reimposed in broadsheet format from folio (or possibly vice versa), shifted to fit into four columns, and set with new title headlines and attestation, but otherwise the text of the two printings are identical, printed line-by-line from the same setting of type. The only variation between the two is the spacing and layout of the final fourteen words of the final sentence of the penultimate paragraph. In the newspaper printing they occupy two crowded lines, while in the broadside the closing word "friends" is moved to the next line, loosening the two lines preceding it.
This adjustment might argue for the broadside having been printed just before the July 16 newspaper issue, where the lines may have been tightened in order for the text of the Declaration to fit with the rest of the week's news stories. Had the newspaper been printed first, it seems unlikely that this single line would have been reset, considering that several other lines of text throughout are just as tight.
Due to the intrinsically ephemeral nature of broadsides, and given its utilitarian purpose - whether posted, heavily handled, folded and/or transported to spread the news to an eager audience - all of the 1776 broadside editions of the Declaration are very scarce, and the large majority are in public institutions. It is estimated that of all the thirteen known 1776 broadside editions of the Declaration, perhaps as few as one hundred copies survive, with the Dunlap first printing accounting for more than a quarter of the known survivals.
As news of the Declaration swept throughout the former colonies and public readings of the document were held, Americans celebrated with "huzzahs," 13-gun salutes, toasts, parades, and sometimes boisterous mobs that tore down and burned local symbols of British authority. The most famous example took place in New York City: after Washington's copy of the Dunlap broadside was read before the American Army on July 9, a mob toppled the lead statue of George III in Bowling Green. The king and his horse were then unceremoniously transported to Connecticut, melted down, and cast into 42,088 musket balls for the American cause (Wall, page 52).
Condition: A few discreet archival repairs to several fold intersections, affecting one or two letters slightly, some deckle edges apparently strengthened in a few places at head, hinged in two small places at head on verso with archival mounting tape, some minor pale spotting, otherwise in very fine condition.
References: Evans 15164; Ford, Massachusetts Broadsides, 1953; Walsh, "Contemporary Broadside Editions of the Declaration of Independence," Harvard Library Bulletin III (1), Winter 1949, 12; Wall, A.J, "The Statues of King George III and the Honorable William Pitt Erected in New York City 1770," The New-York Historical Society Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. IV, No. 2, July 1920, pages 50-52.
Special thanks to Seth Kaller, Inc. for sharing their research on this rare Declaration broadside.
Provenance: Parke Bernet Auction (S.G. Lorris Collection), October 27, 1964, lot 67; Philip D. Sang (1902-1975), distinguished collector of historical manuscripts, successful businessman, and philanthropist. He was born and raised in Chicago, and graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology (his sale, Highly Important American Historical Documents, the Property of the Elsie O. & Philip D. Sang Foundation, Sotheby's New York, Part One, 26 April 1978, lot 82); Goodspeed's Book Shop; collector; acquired privately from William Reese Co. by Seth Kaller, Inc., April 2010; purchased by present owner, Property of A Distinguished American Collector From The Pacific Northwest
Auction Info
2023 July 8 Historical Platinum Signature® Auction #6275 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
July, 2023
8th
Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 5
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