Declaration of Independence

This copy of the Declaration of Independence was created to be a facsimile of the engrossed copy of the Declaration prepared by Timothy Matlack and signed by fifty-six members of Congress. It was printed from a copperplate engraved by William Stone of Washington, D.C. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams had commissioned Stone for the work in 1820. Adams was concerned about the deteriorating condition of the original Declaration and believed an official facsimile was needed to stand in for the original. Adams was also aware of the artistic versions of the Declaration being produced and thought the American people needed to see the Declaration as it was when first written without embellishment.

William Stone labored over his plate for three years before the copperplate was ready for printing. It is not known how Stone produced his plate, but the two most likely methods are by tracing or using a wet transfer process. The latter process would have removed some ink from the original further damaging it. Whatever the method employed, the State Department authorized the printing of 200 copies on vellum. These were distributed to surviving signers of the Declaration of Independence (John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Charles Carroll), former President James Madison, various government officials, branches and departments of the government, the Marquis de Lafayette, governors of each state and territory, and colleges and universities in the United States. Stone kept one copy for himself, a common practice among engravers. About fifty copies are still in existence.

William James Stone (1798-1865) was born in London, England. After moving to America with his family in 1804, he trained as an engraver under the direction of the noted engraver and silversmith Peter Maverick. At seventeen, Stone moved to Washington, D.C. where he took frequent commissions from the federal government. In addition to producing passports, maps and certificates, Stone created the official facsimile copy of the Declaration of Independence at the request of then Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams.