John Dunlap printed about 200 copies of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 for distribution after its adoption.
These first printed copies are known as the Dunlap broadsides. Congress ordered printing immediately after approving the declaration, and Dunlap worked quickly through the night of July 4 in Philadelphia.
The broadsides were sent to political leaders, military commanders, and communities so that the declaration could be read publicly. George Washington received a copy and ordered that it be read to Continental Army troops in New York on July 9.
The original number is an estimate rather than a precisely documented total. Only a small number survive today, which makes the surviving broadsides exceptionally valuable. The printed broadside also differs from the later engrossed parchment: it does not display the familiar full set of signatures.