American History in Image and Text.

Examines the conflicting efforts of John Trumbull, John Binns, Benjamin Tyler, and others to print and market illustrated engravings of the Declaration of Independence during the early 19th century. Many competing prints appeared, all containing various historical errors in text and illustration. Facsimiles became big business, and the deteriorating condition of the original Declaration made them all the more necessary. The article includes an annotated list of 48 broadside editions of the Declaration of Independence, with their locations.