Description:

Declaration of Independence

John Binns’ Scarce and Decorative Early 19th Century (1819) Declaration of Independence Facsimile

Engraved broadside of the Declaration of Independence. “In Congress July 4th.  1776.  The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America.” [Philadelphia:] John Binns, 1819. Text engraved by C. H. Parker, facsimiles of signatures engraved by Tanner, Vallance, Kearny & Co. Ornamental border incorporating the seals of the thirteen original states after Thomas Sully. Medallion portraits of Washington (after Gilbert Stuart, 1795), Jefferson (after Bass Otis, 1816), and Hancock (after John Singleton Copley, 1765), engraved by James Barton Longacre. Framed to 35.5” x 45.75”.

In 1816, the publisher John Binns was first to announce plans to publish a decorative broadside of the Declaration of Independence, to be sold by subscription for $10 each. The project was completed in 1819, by which time four others had already imitated the idea and issued less ornate and less expensive copies, including a pirated copy of the Binns. Binns later said that his publication cost him $9,000, an astonishing amount at that time.

The Binns broadside bears an engraved facsimile attestation to the accuracy of the document by John Quincy Adams, then Secretary of State: “I certify, that this is a Correct copy of the original Declaration of Independence, deposited at this Department; and that I have compared all the signatures with those of the original, and have found them Exact Imitations.”

Despite the competition Binns’ print remains the best decorative reproduction of the Declaration of Independence. Binns wanted to have his copy adopted as official, and one was displayed in the House of Representatives. For political reasons—and perhaps because Binns failed to include an engraving of John Adams—John Quincy Adams soon after commissioned William J. Stone to make an exact facsimile (in 1823).

John Binns (1772-1860) was born in Dublin, Ireland, and moved to London with his brother Benjamin, where they became involved with the politically radical London Corresponding Society. He was imprisoned several times for treason but released after a two-year term as part of a general amnesty. In 1801, he immigrated with his brother to Baltimore. In 1802, he began a Democratic newspaper in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. From 1807 to 1829, he published the Democratic Press in Philadelphia. It was the leading Democratic newspaper in the state until 1824, when it opposed the election of Andrew Jackson. In 1819, Binns published a facsimile version of the Declaration of Independence with engravings of the original signatures, seals of each of the states, and portraits of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Hancock. Binns published an autobiography in 1854.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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