Beschreibung:

"LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS" [DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE]. In Congress, July 4, 1776. The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America. Washington: I. Stone for the Department of State, July 4, 1823. Folio broadside (30½ x 26 in.), ON PAPER, no folds, minor toning to margins, three minor repaired tears along the bottom edge, barely perceptible repaired tears at left-hand side, not affecting the signaturese signatures, small stain at the right edge of William Williams' signature, square areas at left and right on verso slightly lighter than surrounding paper. Minor conservation by Susan Rogers of the Conservation Department of the Huntington Library. BRINGHAM YOUNG'S UNIQUE TRIAL PAPER PROOF OF THE STONE-ENGRAVED DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE This document may well be unique in that, aside from being owned by the great American religious leader, it is a large trial paper proof (Coleman) of the Stone Declaration, struck from the original plate, prior to the 201 copies accomplished on vellum, and may thus be, strictly speaking, the earliest and most exact copy extant. The evidence for this is that it bears the legend across the top from left to right, "ENGRAVED by W.I. Stone, for the Dep't of State, by order of J.Q. Adams, Sec't of State, July 4, 1823." This legend was removed after the vellum copies were made, and no other paper copies reflecting this original configuration are known to exist. Stone's meticulously traced and engraved facsimile of this, America's founding manifesto, is the most accurate of existing facsimiles and the only one officially authorized by Congress. In 1820 -- roughly forty years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted by Congress and signed in Philadelphia by 56 delegates -- Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, commissioned William J. Stone to execute a full-scale facsimile of the Declaration which itself had badly deteriorated in the intervening years. It reportedly took Stone three full years to complete his engraving work on the copper plate. The copies were distributed as follows: Two each to the President and Vice President, two to former President Madison, 20 copies to the two Houses of Congress, two to the Marquis de Lafayette, twelve copies for the departments of government, two copies for each of the three surviving Signers (Jefferson, Charles Carroll, John Adams two for the President's house, one each to the Governors of the States and Territories, one copy to the Councils of the Territories, and the remaining copies to the various universities and colleges of the United States. According to the most authoritative census, in 1991, there were some 31 surviving parchment copies, of which 19 were in institutions. Among this small few, this document is unique. John Bidwell, "Some Broadside Editions of the Declaration of Independence," in Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society , vol.98, no 7; W.R. Coleman, "Counting the Stones-A Census of the Stone Facsimiles of the Declaration of Independence," in Manuscripts , vol.43 (1991), no.2, pp.97-105. It is accompanied by a notarized affidavit dated August 25, 1965, to wit: "This facsimile of the Declaration of Independence was presented to my grandfather, BRIGHAM YOUNG. It hung in the Lion House in Salt Lake City until sometime after the death of my grandfather, when his wives, together with his children, who were living in the Lion House ... were moved out. At that time my grandmother came to live with my parents, ALFALES YOUNG, at 67 E Street, Salt Lake City. Among other possessions brought there with her was this facsimile of the Declaration of Independence presented to my grandfather prior to his death. I am this date presenting this facsimile of the Declaration of Independence which was given to my grandfather, BRIGHAM YOUNG, to my very close friend, MEL CRADER. [signed] Stuart M. Young" Provenance: Bringham Young; Alfales Young; Stuart Young; Mel Crader; William Crader. Stone Declaration