The Immaculate Copy of the Declaration of Independence Found Hidden Behind a $4 Flea Market Painting

Back in 1991, a man bought a painting at a flea market for $4 because he liked the frame. Hidden behind the painting was an envelope containing a copy of the Declaration of Independence. It turned out to be one of approximately 200 copies of the Dunlap broadside, the first published copies of the historic document. From a contemporary NY Times article:

Mr. Redden described the document, found behind the painting when the collector took the frame apart, as an “unspeakably fresh copy” of the declaration. “The fact that it has been in the backing of the frame preserved it,” he said. Of the 24 copies known to survive, only 3 are in private hands, he added.

How “unspeakably fresh” was this particular copy? The ink wasn’t yet dry when it was folded into the envelope:

“The ink was still wet on this copy when it was folded,” Mr. Kiffer said. “The very first line — ‘In Congress, July 4, 1776’ — shows up in the bottom margin in reverse, as a faint offsetting or shadow printing, one more proof of the urgency John Dunlap, the printer, and others felt in dispersing this document.”

The document sold for $2.2 million in 1991 and then sold again in 2000 for $7.4 million to legendary TV producer Norman Lear (All in the Family, The Jeffersons), who mounted a three-and-a-half year tour of the it across the US. (via my modern met)

• Declaration of Independence
• Norman Lear
• USA