John Dunlap produced the first published broadsides of the declaration honored by America250.
Dunlap was an Irish-born printer who operated in Philadelphia and held a printing contract with the Continental Congress. After the Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776, John Hancock ordered Dunlap to print copies for public distribution.
The resulting sheets are known as the Dunlap broadsides. They were printed quickly, probably numbering about 200, and circulated through the colonies and abroad. They did not contain the familiar signatures on the engrossed parchment copy; instead, Hancock's name appeared in the printed authorization line.
Dunlap's role is sometimes confused with that of Charles Thomson, the congressional secretary who attested the printed document, or Timothy Matlack, who prepared the engrossed parchment copy. Each man had a different role in the document's production.