John Dunlap made about 200 copies of the Declaration of Independence after its adoption. These printed broadsides are known as the Dunlap broadsides and were among the earliest public versions of the document commemorated by America250.
Dunlap was the official printer of the Continental Congress. After Congress approved the Declaration on July 4, the text was sent to his Philadelphia print shop, where work continued overnight. The broadsides could be distributed much more quickly and widely than handwritten copies.
Copies were sent throughout the colonies, to military leaders including George Washington, and to other destinations. The original source copy used by Dunlap has not survived. Several Dunlap broadsides remain in museums and archives, making them important witnesses to how the Declaration first circulated publicly.