Fox News

An extremely rare copy of the Declaration of Independence has been found in an obscure records office in southern England.


The National Archives in Washington has the only other parchment document like it, say Harvard researchers Emily Sneff and Danielle Allen.

They uncovered the copy at the West Sussex Records Office, in Chichester, England.

The Sussex archive listed the document as “manuscript copy, on parchment, of the Declaration in Congress of the thirteen United States of America,” in its online catalog.


“I’d found vague descriptions of other copies of the Declaration that turned out to be 19th-century reproductions of the signed parchment in the National Archives, so that was what I was expecting,” Sneff told the Harvard Gazette. “What struck me as significant was that it said manuscript on parchment.”

Sneff was sent a disc with photos of the document.

“When I looked at it closely, I started to see details, like names that weren’t in the right order — John Hancock isn’t listed first, there’s a mark at the top that looks like an erasure, the text has very little punctuation in it — and it’s in a handwriting I hadn’t seen before,” she said. “As those details started adding up, I brought it to Danielle’s attention and we realized this was different from any other copy we had seen.”

The researchers said the signers on the Sussex version are not broken down by state, something that distinguishes it from the copy in the National Archives.

The two dated the document to the 1780s and that it originally belonged to a Duke of Richmond known as the "Radical Duke" for his support of Americans during the Revolutionary War.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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World famous item has just been sitting around in an office for the last 240 years and nobody noticed ?

quote:

Originally posted by ElToro:
World famous item has just been sitting around in an office for the last 240 years and nobody noticed ?

Ohhh somebody noticed Jerry... I mean they logged it into their online catalogue.

Maybe this is the F-you that Georgy III received.

I would think the British would have been sent at least one copy

No, I can't remember the name of the "radical Duke", but he existed. John Wilkes, the Parliamentary bugbear, was also a well-known supporter of American liberties. We did have a few supporters over there. If the Brits were to get a copy, it would've been from a diplomat or spy rather than something officially sent by Congress.

As to why the document sat in a beaurocratic office for so long, well, it's not one of the more famous copies (aren't there four or five "originals"?) and it wouldn't be something that the Brits would consider a vitally important historical document.

I'll be honest, I don't recall any history classes teaching how the message was provided to the British after the signing. I'm guessing it wasn't emailed or faxed.

The details of various broadsides, engrossed versions, etc., such as is known, are found here.

quote:

Originally posted by Rightwire:
I'll be honest, I don't recall any history classes teaching how the message was provided to the British after the signing. I'm guessing it wasn't emailed or faxed.

We unfriended the King on our Facebook page.

It is believed to have originally belonged to the Duke of Richmond, or the 'Radical Duke,' who left behind a legacy of advanced views on parliamentary reform.
'It would be nice to associate this document with the radical duke,' Sneff said.
During the Revolutionary War he gave significant support to the Americans, reported the Globe.
The document was most likely created in New York or Philadelphia, and researchers are trying to determine who wrote it and paid for it to be copied.
It is not an official government document, like the original, but a display copy likely created by a commercial clerk in the 1780's, reported the New York Times.

tac

quote:

Originally posted by ElToro:
World famous item has just been sitting around in an office for the last 240 years and nobody noticed ?

It was just some nonsense from the upstart colonists.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:

quote:

Originally posted by Rightwire:
I'll be honest, I don't recall any history classes teaching how the message was provided to the British after the signing. I'm guessing it wasn't emailed or faxed.

We unfriended the King on our Facebook page.

::ThumbsUp::

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by ElToro:
World famous item has just been sitting around in an office for the last 240 years and nobody noticed ?

It was just some nonsense from the upstart colonists.

Not at all. Please read my post above yours. It was a copy sent to one of the few friends the emerging Colonies had, one who put his money where his mouth was in support of the abolition of tyrannical government in all places.

tac

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
The details of various broadsides, engrossed versions, etc., such as is known, are found here.

In 1949, 14 copies of the Dunlap broadside were known to exist. The number had increased to 21 by 1975. There were 24 known copies of the Dunlap broadside in 1989, when a 25th broadside was discovered behind a painting bought for four dollars at a flea market.

---

In these parts, west of Philadelphia, any very old mirror frame or picture at a garage sale usually has the backing unfastened to check for hidden documents. I've stopped at plenty of "sales" as do others. I've also seen "distressed" looking bureau mirrors for sale which appear to have untampered backing, displayed by people far too wily to miss a potential windfall.

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:


Not at all. Please read my post above yours. It was a copy sent to one of the few friends the emerging Colonies had, one who put his money where his mouth was in support of the abolition of tyrannical government in all places.

tac

It was a little joke. Very little, apparently.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
The details of various broadsides, engrossed versions, etc., such as is known, are found here.

The 16th one in the list is of particular interest given its clear lineage and usage, now located at Independence National Historical Park in Philly:

quote:

previously owned by Col. John Nixon, appointed by the sheriff of Philadelphia to read the Declaration of Independence to the public on July 8, 1776, in the State House yard; presented to the park by his heirs in 1951.

I'd like to see that one.

Crap if it's in the Hands of Progressive liberal professors, they'll re-write it!