Uncolored engraved print on paper mounted to masonite board. Good condition, with light foxing and staining. This was an elaborate production printed by the American Bank Note Company. This print was the intended chief money raiser for one Joseph Leeds. He wanted to turn Independence Square in Philadelphia into an American historical learning experience leading up to the Centennial Exposition. His plan of selling these prints in enough numbers to generate the needed funds failed. However, a few of these lovely remainders have survived. At the very top of the print is an American eagle followed by state and territorial seals, President George Washington, other presidents and great Americans, scenes of battles from the American Revolutionary War, important government buildings, several “firsts” in our nation’s history. The center has the text of the Declaration of Independence with the engraved signatures of the signatories. There are also portraits of 14 American historical figures: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, Lewis Morris, Charles Carroll, Joseph Hewes, Stephen Hopkins, Josiah Bartlett, John Witherspoon, Benjamin Franklin, Edward Rutledge, Lyman Hall, Thomas McKean, James Otis, Patrick Henry, Robert Morris and General Lafayette. Copyright date is 1873.28 1/2" by 36"It is not a reprint.

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