Historic Copies of the Declaration of Independence on Temporary Exhibit at NH State House

Two historic copies of the Declaration of Independence have been installed in a temporary display inside the New Hampshire State House. Here, visitors can view the historic document signed by those who founded the United States of America 249 years ago.

According to the Boston Globe, the older of the two documents was among the 200 copies produced by a Philadelphia printer named John Dunlap. This copy came to New Hampshire several weeks after the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. 

After it was shared with New Hampshire's leaders, the document was reprinted in newspapers and read aloud to the public. According to the Globe, the state's first president (now called governor), Meshech Weare, likely came into contact with the document.

The more recent of the two documents was produced 47 years later, in 1823, when U.S. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams requested that engraver William J. Stone create a facsimile of the original New Hampshire copy of the Declaration of Independence, which had begun to deteriorate.

Stone's engraving method used copperplate to reproduce the detailed markings and flourishes in the signatures. This version is the one most often reproduced for textbooks and museum exhibits, according to the New Hampshire Secretary of State's office.

The Globe cited a spokesperson for the secretary of state's office who reported that the 1823 copy was among several Revolution-era documents that state officials discovered in 1978 while cleaning out a vault inside the state house.

While the public is encouraged to visit the New Hampshire State House to view the documents, photographing them is prohibited. The two copies of the Declaration of Independence will be displayed side by side in the New Hampshire State House Visitor Center until Wednesday, July 9.