NEW HAVEN, Conn. — One of the first printed copies of the Declaration of Independence has been put on display at Yale University.
The broadside was made by the official printer of the Continental Congress, John Dunlap, in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776 to publicize its approval.
It is one of 26 known to still be in existence.
The document predates the calligraphic version of the Declaration, which was created later and signed by John Hancock and the rest of Congress in August of that year.
There is no record of how many copies Dunlap printed.
The document, normally kept in a drawer in a sub-basement of Yale’s rare book library, will be on display at the library through Thursday.
