The Declaration of Independence’s first printed edition was the Dunlap broadside, produced for Congress by printer John Dunlap.
After Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776, it ordered printed copies so the text could be distributed widely. Dunlap printed the document as a broadside, meaning a large sheet printed on one side. These early copies carried the declaration’s text but not the later handwritten signatures.
Historians identify 26 surviving Dunlap broadsides. One was famously read aloud to American troops and the public, helping spread the news beyond the delegates gathered in Philadelphia. The broadside format made the revolutionary announcement easier to post, read, and reproduce.
The Dunlap broadside is not the same object as the engrossed parchment now displayed by the National Archives. The parchment was prepared later for signatures, while Dunlap’s copies were among the first public printings. This distinction helps explain why the Declaration exists in several historically important forms.