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William J. Stone for Peter Force: The Declaration of Independence. Single oversized sheet, 25.5" x 28.75", ...
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Description
The Declaration of Independence
William J. Stone for Peter Force: The Declaration of Independence. Single oversized sheet, 25.5" x 28.75", originally folded and placed in Volume I of Peter Force's 1837-1853 series of books, American Archives. Clean separations at folds have been enforced on verso with archival tissue. A few spots of paper loss, most notably a strip (approximately .75" x 8") along right margin not affecting any text.In 1820, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams had commissioned William J. Stone of Washington to engrave an exact copy of the original Declaration of Independence onto a copperplate, a process which took three years to complete. Stone used a new Wet-Ink transfer process to create a copperplate from which facsimile copies could then be made. By wetting the original document, some of the original ink was transferred to the copperplate, which was then used for printing. There were 201 official parchment copies struck from the Stone plate. These are identified as "Engraved by W. J. Stone for the Department of State, by order" in the upper left corner, followed by "of J. Q. Adams, Sec. of State July 4th 1824" in the upper right corner. Stone kept one copy for himself (this copy now resides in the Smithsonian) and delivered 200 copies to the Department of State.
In 1833, historian and printer Peter Force, under contract with the Department of State authorized by an act of Congress, planned to compile a vast work in at least twenty volumes, to be known as the American Archives, a Documentary History of the English Colonies in North America. It included legislative records, documents, and historic private correspondence. Six volumes were published from 1837-1846 and three more between 1846-1853. The nine volumes covered the years 1774-1776. Inserted in Volume I was a copy of the Declaration of Independence. The "Wet Ink" copperplate created by William J. Stone had been removed from storage and, from it, Force printed copies on rice paper. In the lower left of each copy, Force printed: "W. J. STONE SC. WASHN." These documents were then folded and inserted into Volume 1 of the American Archives collection. Congress authorized up to 1500 copies of the series to be printed, but subscriptions fell far short of that number. The actual number of copies printed is unknown, with estimates ranging from about 500 to upwards of 1,000. Only a few hundred of Force's printing of the Declaration of Independence are known to exist today. On April 29, 1846, the U.S. Senate "Resolved, That the Committee on the Library be instructed to inquire into the expediency of distributing copies of the American Archives, now belonging to the government, among the historical societies, incorporated public libraries, colleges, and universities in the United States." There were still sets of the American Archives remaining so on February 21, 1849, the House issued "a Joint resolution authorizing the distribution of the 'American Archives,' under the direction of the Joint Committee on the Library, to literary institutions in the several States and Territories." In 1853, possibly because of the low demand for the nine volumes of American Archives already in print, Secretary of State William L. Marcy refused to approve Force's plans to continue his series.
Auction Info
2011 April New York Signature Historical Manuscripts Auction #6054 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
April, 2011
8th-9th
Friday-Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 7
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
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Buyer's Premium per Lot:
19.5% of the successful bid per lot.
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