07/03/2026
To honor the semi-quincentennial of the Declaration of Independence, here are some interesting facts about its original appearance.
What was created on July 4, 1776 was a printed version of the American Declaration of Independence, pictured here. It is known as the Dunlap Broadside. The Continental Congress ordered around 200 copies of this document to be printed and distributed. This is the first public version of the Declaration of Independence.
John Dunlap was a Philadelphia printer who would become the official printer of the Continental Congress in 1778. A broadside is a large piece of paper printed to be posted in public spaces.
It was only later that the Continental Congress ordered that the document be « engrossed » or handwritten by Timothy Matlock, who was clerk to Secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thompson.
Matlock wrote out the Declaration using a quill pen and iron gall ink, and wrote on parchment. He used a formal script called English round hand, now commonly known as Copperplate.
The handwritten document was ready and delegates began signing it on August 2, 1776.
America’s Founding Fathers were aware that a handwritten and human-signed document has much more power and cultural charisma, and it is this handwritten parchment document that Americans think of today when they imagine the Declaration of Independence.
