The first widely distributed printed version of the United States Declaration of Independence was the Dunlap broadside.
Printer John Dunlap produced the broadsides in Philadelphia shortly after Congress adopted the Declaration in July 1776. They were large single-sheet printings intended to spread the news quickly throughout the colonies and beyond.
Historians generally identify about 200 copies as the original printing order, although only a smaller number survive today. The copies were sent to colonial governments, military leaders, and other recipients. George Washington received one and had the Declaration read to Continental Army troops in New York.
The Dunlap broadside is different from the later Goddard broadside. The Dunlap version listed John Hancock and Charles Thomson in print, while the Goddard version, issued later, was the first broadside to list the names of the Declaration's signers.