A wooden frame purchased for $4 at a Pennsylvania flea market held something far more valuable than its damaged country-scene painting. When the buyer removed the canvas, he found a folded sheet of paper tucked between the picture and its backing.
The man, who remained anonymous, had bought the painting in Adamstown, Pennsylvania, in 1989 because he wanted the frame. A friend who collected Civil War artifacts urged him to have the paper examined, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 1991.
Sotheby’s determined that the sheet was an authentic Dunlap broadside, one of the first printed copies of the Declaration of Independence. Two years after the flea-market purchase, it sold at auction for about $2.4 million, The Associated Press reported.
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The find was not a souvenir reprint. It came from the first press run of the Declaration, and only 26 such sheets are known to survive, according to the National Archives. How it ended up behind a cheap painting is still a mystery, but its story answers questions people still ask about the famous find: what a Dunlap broadside is, why this one sold for millions and what to do if old papers turn up behind a frame.
What is a Dunlap broadside?
A Dunlap broadside is one of the first printed copies of the Declaration of Independence, produced by Philadelphia printer John Dunlap on the night Congress adopted it.
The discovery is sometimes described as a copy of the Declaration, but that shorthand can be misleading. It was not a reproduction of the familiar handwritten parchment displayed at the National Archives.
The broadside came first. After the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776, the approved text was sent to Philadelphia printer John Dunlap. According to the National Archives, Dunlap worked through the night to produce an estimated 200 large printed sheets.
Distribution began on July 5. Copies went to colonial governments, local committees and commanders in the Continental Army, allowing Congress’ decision to be circulated more quickly than handwritten copies could have been prepared.
The broadsides carried the printed names of John Hancock, president of Congress, and Charles Thomson, its secretary. They did not include the handwritten signatures of the other delegates.
The engrossed parchment now regarded as the original ceremonial document was prepared later. Most of the 56 delegates signed it on Aug. 2, 1776, rather than July 4, according to the National Archives.
How many Dunlap broadsides survive, and where did the flea-market copy come from?
Very few survive, and no one has traced how the flea-market copy reached Pennsylvania.
The Dunlap sheets were working documents intended for distribution, not ceremonial objects designed for permanent display. Many were probably discarded, damaged or lost as they passed among officials and military officers.
The National Archives says 26 Dunlap broadsides are known to survive. That count could change if another copy is authenticated, but genuine discoveries are exceptionally rare.
Sotheby’s compared the flea-market document with other known broadsides before authenticating it. The auction house said it was astonished by the document’s fresh, clean condition, the Inquirer reported.
A handwritten endorsement on the back read “Declaration of American Independence. July 4, 1776.” Sotheby’s cited it, along with the paper and typography, in verifying the document, The Baltimore Sun reported in 1991.
Its condition was partly the result of accidental protection. The paper had been folded, but the frame shielded it from prolonged exposure to light, air and handling. By contrast, the signed parchment at the National Archives suffered deterioration after years of display and repeated handling.
The broadside’s path from a Philadelphia printing shop in 1776 to an Adamstown flea market in 1989 has never been established. Researchers do not know who originally received it, when it was folded or who placed it behind the painting.
That gap is an important qualification to the otherwise tidy treasure story. Experts could authenticate the printing through its type, paper, the endorsement on its back and comparison with known copies, but they could not reconstruct its chain of custody; its unusually good condition and rarity helped determine its market value.
How much did the flea-market Declaration of Independence sell for?
It sold for about $2.4 million in 1991 and for $8.14 million in 2000.
At the June 1991 Sotheby’s auction, the broadside sold for about $2.4 million to Visual Equities, an Atlanta art-investment firm, according to the AP. The price was extraordinary for a document discovered behind a flea-market painting, though later events made it look modest.
When the broadside returned to Sotheby’s in June 2000, television producer Norman Lear and internet entrepreneur David Hayden bought it in an online auction. The winning bid was $7.4 million, and the buyer’s commission raised the total to $8.14 million, according to the AP.
Mr. Lear later placed the broadside on a nationwide educational tour. In 2003, the National Archives displayed it at its Fourth of July celebration at Union Station in Washington. In announcing the event, the agency said Mr. Lear acquired the broadside to bring it directly to Americans, especially young people, and encourage them to take part in civic life and vote.
The document had originally been printed for travel, carrying Congress’ decision beyond Philadelphia. More than two centuries later, after an unexplained period behind a damaged painting, it was traveling again.
What should you do if you find an old document behind a painting?
Handle it as little as possible, don’t try to fix it and have an expert examine it.
The discovery also illustrates why an apparently ordinary frame or bundle of papers should be opened carefully. Anyone finding a potentially historic document should avoid cleaning it, flattening folds or attempting repairs, and should keep it out of direct light.
The National Archives’ guidance on storing family papers warns against pressure-sensitive tape and recommends keeping old papers out of damp basements, garages and hot attics. It calls for temperatures below 75 degrees, relative humidity below 65% and acid-free storage boxes and folders.
A potentially valuable item should be handled as little as possible until an archivist, qualified appraiser or paper conservator can examine it. The agency advises contacting a conservator for any problem that cannot be solved safely with correct storage and handling. In the Pennsylvania buyer’s case, leaving the folded sheet largely undisturbed helped preserve one of the papers that first announced an independent United States.
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