Declaration of Independence, William Stone/Peter Force Facsimile, Along With 4 Vols. "American Archives" Incl. 1 Ex-James A. Garfield

A copperplate engraving of the Declaration of Independence after William J. Stone (1798-1865), a supplemental fold-out originally bound into Peter Force, "American Archives: Consisting of A Collection of Authentick Records, State Papers, Debates, and Letters and Other Notices of Publick Affairs," Fifth Series, Vol. I, 1776 (Washington: M. St. Clair Clarke and Peter Force, ca. 1848). The Declaration of Independence facsimile has been handsomely framed, and is accompanied by four assembled volumes of Peter Force's "American Archives," including: Fourth Series, Vol. VI.; Fifth Series, Vol. I; Fifth Series, Vol. II; and Fifth Series, Vol. III. One of these four volumes comes from the personal library of 20th U.S. President James A. Garfield.

The lot includes:

1. The Declaration of Independence facsimile, printed on paper, being a faithful reproduction of the foundational text as well as the signers' signatures. Discretely printed at lower left: "W.J. Stone SC Washn." Expected wear including uneven minor toning, sharp creases, and scattered ghost ink impressions and stains. A small closed tear affects two words--"on the"-- appearing on line 34 near the right edge. Else clean, bright, crisp, and near fine. Matted and framed behind glass in a mahogany-finished frame. Not examined out of the frame. The sight size of the document is 23.875" x 28.5" while the overall frame size is 32.75" x 37.5" x 1.25."

The Declaration of Independence facsimile is accompanied by four volumes of Peter Force, "American Archives" featuring 3/4 leather binding, gilt-embossed spines, and marbleized endpapers. A small bag of leather binding fragments is included. Overall good; individual condition issues are elaborated below. The combined weight of the four volumes is approximately 40 lbs.

2. Peter Force, "American Archives: Fourth Series, Vol. VI … Containing A Documentary History of the English Colonies in North America, From the King's Message to Parliament, of March 7, 1774, to the Declaration of Independence, by the United States" (Washington: M. St. Clair Clarke and Peter Force, March 1846.) The volume has an ex-libris on its marbleized front paste-down endpaper reading, "Inter Folia Fructus. / Library of James A. Garfield." Expected wear including scattered foxing. Both handsome leather covers are attached. The spine is slightly flaked but intact. 1855pp. 9.5" x 14" x 2.75." 7.40 lb.

3. Peter Force, "American Archives: Fifth Series, Vol. I … Containing A Documentary History of the United States of America, from the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, to the Definitive Treaty of Peace with Great Britain, September 3, 1783" (Washington: M. St. Clair Clarke and Peter Force, April 1848.) No ex-libris is present, but one of the front loose endpapers is pencil-inscribed "N.H. State Library / Shelf 96." A few front pages, along with both covers, are detached but present. Minor water stains affecting the lower right corner of the pages in the volume. 1787pp. 9.5" x 14" x 2.5." 7.15 lb.

4. Peter Force, "American Archives: Fifth Series, Vol. II … Containing A Documentary History of the United States of America, from the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, to the Definitive Treaty of Peace with Great Britain, September 3, 1783" (Washington: M. St. Clair Clarke and Peter Force, May 1851.) With an ex-libris on the front endpaper reading: "John L. Mayer, / York, PA." Expected wear including toning and scattered foxing. Both covers are detached but present, with some fading and bumped edges and corners. 1524pp. 9.5" x 14" x 2.75." 6.91 lb.

5. Peter Force, "American Archives: Fifth Series, Vol. III … Containing A Documentary History of the United States of America, from the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, to the Definitive Treaty of Peace with Great Britain, September 3, 1783" (Washington: M. St. Clair Clarke and Peter Force, January 1853.) A former collector's label located in the front reads: "The Bar Library, / of the / U.S. District and Circuit Courts, / for the District of Vermont / Presented by Hon. Solomon Foot." The first few pages are water-stained, else very clean; one partly detached and one completely detached cover are both present. 1891pp. 9.5" x 14" x 3.25." 7.75 lb.

In 1820, with the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaching, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams and Congress commissioned William J. Stone to engrave an exact copy of the original Declaration of Independence onto a copperplate. This proved to be a fortuitous decision, since the original Declaration of Independence already showed signs of deterioration. The Federal government did not safely store the engrossed Declaration manuscript; it was displayed in direct sunlight for more than thirty years and suffered disastrously faulty conservation work and other insults that have rendered it mostly illegible today. Therefore, the Stone/Force printings are the best representation of the Declaration as it was when members of the Continental Congress signed the manuscript in August of 1776.

A decade later in 1833, Peter Force (1790-1868), historian, publisher and mayor of Washington D.C., under contract with the Department of State and authorized by Act of Congress, started compiling a vast collection of primary documents named "American Archives: A Documentary History of the United States." It encompassed six series from colonial settlement to the organization of the Federal government in 1789. The fourth series was to cover the period from March 7, 1774 to the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The fifth series focused on the Declaration of Independence to the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

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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