John Dunlap printed the first broadside editions of the Declaration of Independence for the Continental Congress.
Dunlap operated a printing shop in Philadelphia and worked through the night after Congress approved the document on July 4, 1776. He produced about 200 broadside copies, large single-sheet prints intended for distribution and public reading.
These early copies carried the Declaration across the colonies more quickly than handwritten versions could have done. Congress sent copies to colonial governments and to George Washington, who arranged for the text to be read to the Continental Army in New York City.
The Dunlap broadsides are different from the famous engrossed parchment copy that delegates signed. The broadside was printed for immediate circulation, while the parchment version was prepared later as an official copy for signatures. Twenty-six Dunlap broadsides are known to survive, making them important artifacts of the Declaration’s first public life.