Volunteer uncovers rare 1776 Declaration of Independence copy in UK archives
A volunteer at The National Archives in Kew identified a rare 1776 copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, one of only 11 known survivors, now slated for exhibition after conservation.
A volunteer cataloguing Royal Navy papers at The National Archives in Kew discovered a rare 1776 copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, the only known example of its kind outside the United States. The document is one of 11 surviving copies printed in Exeter, New Hampshire, in July 1776 to disseminate news of American independence before British forces seized many copies.
The paper was captured by the Royal Navy on 24 December 1776 when HMS Raisonable intercepted the American vessel Dalton off Portugal. After being taken to Britain, the declaration was folded among the letters of Captain Thomas Fitzherbert and remained unmarked in the state archive for centuries.
Conservation work has stabilised the paper and repaired a minor tear, allowing it to be handled and displayed. It will be exhibited as part of the "Revolution 250: America's Independence Story, 1763-1783" exhibition at the archives.
"It's a vanishingly rare surviving copy of the Declaration of Independence, found not in America, but here in the UK," said Saul Nassé, chief executive of The National Archives.
Dr. Graham Moore, a historian at the archives, described the find as "one of the rarest forms of the Declaration we know about" and noted that the original printings were intended for rapid distribution rather than preservation.
