It's one of the "Dunlap Broadsides" which were printed in July of 1776.

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The “Declaration of Independence broadside” is a poster copy of the Declaration of Independence, one of 200 copies sent out from Philadelphia printer John Dunlap to the thirteen colonies. Exeter was the Revolutionary War capital and the New Hampshire copy arrived July 16th, 1776.

The copies were printed so that the 'Declaration of Independence' could be read aloud to the colonists. John Taylor Gilman read the document to the residents of Exeter from the Town Hall steps.

The copy was not to be seen for quite a long while, and then was found in the attic of the Ladd-Gilman house in Exeter in the mid 80's while a new security system was being installed.

Upon the authentication of the find and after some debate over the ownership of the document, the State of New Hampshire agreed to display a reproduction in the American Independence Museum in Exeter.

 

 

 

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