Peter Force Declaration of Independence by FORCE, Peter - 1833

The Peter Force Declaration of Independence [DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE]. [FORCE, Peter]. [STONE, William J.]. Declaration of Independence. From the American Archives. [Washington, D.C.: ìW. J. STONE SC WASHnî William Stone for Peter Force, c.a. 1833]. The Peter Force Edition of the "Declaration of Independence." Originally found in Force's America Archives. Large folio broadside (28 7/8 x 25 1/2 inches; 732 x 650 mm) Rice paper. Printed in black ink on recto only. This is often found with a very tight margin on at least one side, as it was bound into the book, but present copy has large margins on all four sides, never touching the text. Sheet with folds, consistent with having been issued in the Force American Archives Fifth Series, volume I. Some minor, nearly invisible repairs to closed tears in some of the creases, with no loss of text. Housed flat in a mylar sleeve. Overall an about fine copy. We will remove from mylar upon request. Less than 50 years after the original draft of the Declaration, the document was beginning to degrade. One theory as to why was based on the fact that press copies were being made of it. "This 'wet transfer' method may have been used by William J. Stone when in 1820 he was commissioned by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams to make a facsimile of the entire Declaration, signatures as well as text. By June 5, 1823, almost exactly 47 years after Jefferson's first draft of the Declaration, the (Washington) National Intelligencer was able to report 'that Mr. William J. Stone, a respectable and enterprising Engraver of this City, has, after a labor of three years, completed a facsimile of the original of the Declaration of Independence, now in the archives of the government; that it is executed with the greatest exactness and fidelity; and that the Department of State has become the purchaser of the plate.' As the Intelligencer went on to observe: 'We are very glad to hear this, for the original of that paper which ought to be immortal and imperishable, by being so much handled by copyists and curious visitors, might receive serious injury. The facility of multiplying copies of it now possessed by the Department of State will render further exposure of the original unnecessary.' The language of the newspaper report, like that of Rush's earlier comment, would seem to indicate some fear of the deterioration of the Declaration even prior to Stone's work. The copies made from Stone's copperplate established the clear visual image of the Declaration for generations of Americans. The 200 official parchment copies struck from the Stone plate carry the identification "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 1823." in the upper right corner. (From the National Archives) Peter Force who was a historian and printer was commissioned by congress in 1833 to compile a work which would be known as the "American Archives" and would include government documents, records and correspondence pertaining to the history of the Colonies of North America. At the time of the Archives commission, the State Department signed a contract for 1,500 copies to be made of the Declaration from the Stone copperplate, and to be inserted into the American Archives, Fifth Series Volume I. At some point after Stone's original 200 copies, his imprint at top was removed, and replaced with the shorter imprint on he bottom left, ìW. J. STONE SC WASHn,î as seen on our present copy. Although the original contract was for 1,500 copies of the Declaration, the subscriber list for the "Archives"did not meet its goal, so the actual number of copies printed is not known, however it is probably somewhere between 500-1,500. Howes. Streeter. Sabin. HBS 67809. $25,000