Mindy Belloff is Recreating The Declaration of Independence!

Set by Hand, ONE LETTER AT A TIME, as Printed by a Woman in 1777, the portfolio will include essays with introductory text by David Armitage, Professor of History Harvard University & author of The Declaration of Independence: A Global History. Limited edition begins September 2.

In 1777, Congress commissioned Mary Katherine Goddard of Baltimore to print 13 copies of the Declaration of Independence, one for each of the colonies forming the United States of America. It was the first time the Declaration revealed the identity of the signors. She put herself at risk for treason by printing the document and adding her name at the bottom. To honor this American pioneer, artist Mindy Belloff will reproduce Goddard’s elegant two-column design, hand set over 7,500 characters in Caslon typeface as the original, and letterpress print them one at a time on paper made specifically for the historic recreation. Only nine known copies of the Goddard Broadside exist today, which makes it inaccessible to a wide audience. The new edition will be limited to no more than 150 copies. The project began on August 12th, as the first batch of type arrived at the artist's print shop, the same month and day of Mary Katherine Goddard’s death (August 12, 1816 at the age of 78). The date is symbolic as a celebration not only of our Founding Fathers’ drafting of this important document, but of the life’s achievement of a woman who stood up for freedom of the press and the rights of women in the newly formed UNITED STATES.

1776
We hold these Truths to be self-evident,
that all Men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their CREATOR
with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness.

2009
We hold these Truths to be self-evident,
that all People are created equal,
that they are endowed by their CREATOR
with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness.