The Declaration of Independence – Rare 1818 First Facsimile Printing on Silk

Copperplate-printed facsimile of the engrossed Declaration of Independence, printed on silk in Washington, D.C. in 1818, drawn by calligrapher Benjamin Owen Tyler and engraved by Peter Maverick. One of only four or five copies known on silk, the highest-priced format Tyler offered.

"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..."

In the surge of nationalism following the War of 1812, and as the founding generation began to pass away, Americans developed a strong appetite for artifacts tied to the nation's founding. Tyler produced a decorative rendering of the Declaration's text followed by facsimile signatures, sold by advance subscription. The subscription book survives at the University of Virginia and was signed by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, John Marshall, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster, among others. Records show about 1,694 orders for paper copies at $5 each; only 40 on vellum, and just four or five on the premium silk or linen at $7.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. Copperplate printing on silk. Washington, D.C., 1818. Drawn by Benjamin Owen Tyler, engraved by Peter Maverick. Inventory #28383.