Original United States Declaration of Independence Matlack Version (1776) A-Line Dress
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$41.32
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$41.32
Product features
- Loose swing shape for an easy, flowy fit
- Sizes run large, so order a size down from your usual
- Print covers entire front and back panel with your chosen design, by an independent artist
- 97% polyester, 3% elastane woven dress fabric with silky handfeel
- Note that due to the production process, the placement of the print may vary slightly from the preview
- The third party printer of this product is evaluated according to International Labor Organization standards
- Since every item is made just for you by your local third-party fulfiller, there may be slight variances in the product received
Original United States Declaration of Independence Matlack Version (1776)
On July 19, 1776, the Continental Congress ordered the Declaration of Independence to be engrossed—or written out in a large legible hand. Timothy Matlack, a clerk in the Pennsylvania State House, was the scribe charged with this task. Matlack’s work included laying out the text on the parchment, determining the margins and space between lines, and calculating the space that would be needed at the bottom of the document for signatures.
Between July 19 and August 2 (when delegates began to sign the document), Matlack wrote out the text on a large sheet of parchment. He selected the best skin that was available, prepared his quill pens, and made sure he had a sufficient supply of ink.
Matlack penned a new title that is visually distinctive, with large letters and flourishes: “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.” Under this title, the lines of text take up almost the entire width of the parchment.
Though not a perfect rectangle, the parchment is close at about 29½ by 24 inches. It was slightly larger in Matlack’s day, as evidenced by variation in clean and dirty edges, especially along the top edge of the skin. Extremely grimy edges, resulting from years of handling the bare parchment, are original and reflect the full dimension of the document, while cleaner edges are evidence of trimming at some time in the past. Why would edges have been trimmed? The possibilities include the desire to tidy an uneven edge, the need to remove a jagged bit of parchment that could catch on something and tear, or the wish to straighten an edge before mounting the document for exhibit.
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