Declaration 250 — the plain letterpress edition of the Declaration of Independence — The Declaration · plain edition

The printed Declaration on the cylinder of the Vandercook 4C, the photopolymer plate on the bed below — On the Vandercook 4C

Declaration 250 — the ‘Justice’ overprint in red across the Declaration: ‘He obstructed the Administration of Justice’ — No. 1 · “Justice” overprint

The ‘Justice’ overprint forme — wood and metal type locked up on the press bed — The overprint forme · wood & metal type

Mischiefe Press · Limited Edition · 2026

Declaration 250

The 250th-Anniversary Series · No. 1: “Justice”

On the 4th of July 2026 — 250 years to the day — Dave printed 25 copies of the Declaration of Independence from a plate made from the Dunlap broadside. Over the following twelve months, Mischiefe Press will overprint phrases from the Declaration to highlight both its vision of human freedom and its condemnation of tyranny. Sold in pairs: a plain Declaration and an overprinted version.

Format

Broadside pair (plain + overprinted)

Process

Photopolymer plate + hand-set type

Paper

G.F. Smith Wild · A3

Press

Vandercook 4C

Edition

25 copies

Release schedule

Monthly

The ‘Justice’ overprint — ‘He has obstructed the Administration of Justice’

No. 1 · “Justice” · Pair

A plain Declaration and an overprinted version — “He has obstructed the Administration of Justice.”

£25 + shipping

Sold Out

The ‘Trade’ overprint — ‘For cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World’

No. 2 · “Trade” · Pair

A plain Declaration and an overprinted version — “For cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World.”

£25 + shipping

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Every Edition Has a Story

The 4th of July 2026 marked the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. To mark it, on the 4th of July Dave printed 25 copies of the Declaration from a plate made from a photograph of the Dunlap broadside — the first printing of the Declaration, struck off in Philadelphia on the night of the 4th of July, 1776.

What struck Dave during the printing was that — while readers and commentators are right to focus on the document’s positive affirmation of human freedoms and the nature of a government for and by the people — many people forget that the Declaration is essentially a charge sheet, one that lays out the evils of authoritarianism.

Mischiefe Press, then, will do a little mischiefe over the next twelve months.

Each month Dave will print phrases from the Declaration over the Declaration, to highlight both the document’s vision of human freedom and its condemnation of tyranny. Copies will be sold in pairs — a plain version of the Declaration accompanied by an overprinted version.

Each pair takes up one of the Declaration’s charges against King George:

No. 1 · “Justice” — “He has obstructed the Administration of Justice.” (Sold Out)
No. 2 · “Trade” — “For cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World.” (Available Now)

Each pair is hand-printed on the Vandercook 4C on A3 G.F. Smith Wild paper.

Printed by Dave Harper at his Mischiefe Press in York.
From a plate made after the Dunlap broadside of 1776,
struck on the 4th of July 2026 — the 250th anniversary
of the Declaration of Independence.
A limited edition of 25, sold in pairs: plain and overprinted.
Hand-printed on the Vandercook 4C on A3 G.F. Smith Wild paper.

Declaration 250

From the Press