"The Declaration of Independence" Broadside, Published by Phelps & Ensign, circa 1841

Presented is an ornamental engraved broadside of the Declaration of Independence. The print was designed by William Woodruff, engraved by Story & Atwood, and published by Phelps and Ensign in New York, in 1841-43.  The composition is oval in shape, with the top formed by an amassing of draped spears and trumpets, surmounted by an eagle clutching arrows and laurel leaves in its talons. The text of the Declaration of Independence is engraved in a uniform round hand, with decorative emphasis given to the first two lines of the document, engraved in ornamental script. The Declaration’s signatures are engraved in facsimile. The complete text of the Declaration is encircled by a vine border, punctuated with the seals of the thirteen original states and six pointed stars. The state seals are identified in the lower margins. At top is a bust portrait of General George Washington, engraved by Stephen Gimber, with bust portraits of Jefferson and Adams on each side.  The line, “Story Atwood E