Beschreibung:

engraver).- Force (Peter).- Declaration of Independence (The). In Congress, July 4, 1776, The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America. Washington, fine copper-engraved broadside from the W.J. Stone copperplate, the usual folds with light offsetting, but otherwise an unusually fine example, preserved in the original book (Series V vol.I, American Archives), contemporary russia, edge wear with some splitting at joints, folio, [Washington, DC, 1848]. *** An excellent impression of the rice-paper engraving of the Declaration of Independence, reprinted specifically for the American Archives series of volumes that Congress commissioned Peter Force to produce in 1843. The engraver William J. Stone had originally produced the engraving in 1820 by lifting ink directly from the original and creating a perfect copy, primarily to help preserve the historical document after the original was seen to be deteriorating due to mishandling and storage. For the occasion of the 1843 restrike, the Stone engraving was removed from storage and used to produce new copies on rice paper, distinguished from the original by an engraving in the lower left corner “W.J. Stone S.C. Washn.” Printed in 1848, each copy was folded into the first volume of the fifth series of books. After printing, the plate was again retired, now residing with the original Declaration at the National Archives. Congress authorized the printing of 1500 copies of American Archives, but subscriptions for the elaborate edition were disappointing, and in the end many fewer copies, possibly as low as 500, were issued. A magnificent and extremely well-preserved example.