Rare William Stone printing of US Independence Declaration may fetch $250,000 at Heritage Auctions

A rare William Stone printing of US Independence Declaration, as shown in the photo below, by an anonymous owner is being expected to fetch more than $250,000 at Heritage Auctions this coming April 11.

1823 William Stone printing of

US Independence Declaration

According to a press release by Heritage Auction, a newly discovered 1823 printing by William Stone of the declaration of US Independence is being expected to bring between $250,000 and $350,000.

As noted at HA.com, then-US Secretary of State John Quincy Adams commissioned English-born engraver William J. Stone of Washington, DC in 1820 to produce an exact copy of the original Declaration of Independence onto a copperplate, a process which took him three years to complete.

“As America neared its 45th year, and was only six years removed from the end of the War of 1812, patriotism surged,” Heritage Auctions Director of Historic Manuscripts Sandra Palomino was quoted in the report.

“Although a few other copies have surfaced since then, three of the printings in private hands have been gifted to institutions, including one given to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in 2001.” Palomino added.

“The copies made from Stone‘s copperplate established an exact rendering of the way the Declaration looked 230 years ago after it was signed by the 56 American Patriots,” Palomino explained further, noting that the copy at Heritage appears to be untrimmed and with evidence of the copper plate in the margins.

Apparently, 200 official parchment copies of Stone‘s US Independence Declaration printing were struck from his plate in 1823, plus one copy for himself. Elizabeth J. Stone, his widow, donated his copy to the Smithsonian Institute in 1888, where it resides until this time.