Full Breakdown
Rare Exeter Printing of the Declaration of Independence Discovered in London
7/4/2026, 7:23:17 AM
Discovery of a Vanishingly Rare Broadside
In May 2024, Michael Scurr, a volunteer at the National Archives in Kew, found a folded sheet while cataloguing 18th-century Royal Navy correspondence. Recognising the heading “Declaration,” he alerted his supervisor; the sheet was identified as an early 1776 printing of the United States Declaration of Independence.
Provenance
Printed in Exeter, New Hampshire between July 16-19 1776, the broadside likely reached Captain Eleazer Johnson of the privateer *Dalton* before the ship sailed to Europe. On 24 December 1776 HMS Raisonnable, under Capt. Thomas Fitzherbert, captured the *Dalton* after a seven-hour chase off Portugal. The seized documents were sent to the Admiralty and later filed in the National Archives as “another paper.”
Timeline
- July 4 1776 – Declaration adopted.
- July 16-19 1776 – Exeter broadside printed.
- Dec 24 1776 – HMS Raisonnable captures the *Dalton*; documents seized.
- Jan 1777 – Papers taken to London.
- May 2024 – Volunteer Michael Scurr discovers the sheet.
- 2024 – Conservation stabilises the paper.
- Late 2024 – Planned display in the “Revolution 250” exhibition.
Significance and Impact
The sheet is one of only 11 surviving Exeter copies and the sole example outside the United States, underscoring the transatlantic spread of revolutionary ideas. Roughly 200 copies were printed in 1776; about 26 survive today, making this provenance-rich artifact uniquely valuable.
Official Statements & Responses
Saul Nassé, chief executive of the National Archives, called the find “extraordinary” and “vanishingly rare.” Curator Graham Moore said it is among the rarest forms of the Declaration, not intended for preservation. Amanda Bevan noted its presence on the *Dalton* shows the crew fought for an ideological cause. Historian Nicholas Guyatt said British officials would have regarded it as just another seized document.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
The British vessel is named HMS Raisonnable in some sources and HMS Raisonable in others. Capture location is reported as off Portugal or off Spain. While eleven Exeter copies are consistently noted, overall survival counts vary between 26 known copies and roughly 200 original prints. Detailed information on the *Dalton*’s crew, beyond a single black sailor, is lacking.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Saul Nassé, chief executive of the National Archives, said: “This is an extraordinary discovery.” — Saul Nassé, Chief Executive, The National Archives
- “For the men on board the Dalton, it set out what they were fighting for, and why,” — Dr Graham Moore, curator, The National Archives
- “I thought, oh, right, this is definitely a Declaration of Independence,” — Michael Scurr, volunteer archivist
- “They know why they’re fighting, but this puts it in a language which makes it greater than them,’’ Bevan said.” — Amanda Bevan, head of legal records, The National Archives
What’s Next
After conservation, the broadside will join the National Archives’ “Revolution 250: America’s Independence Story, 1763-1783” exhibition, where it will be available for public viewing and scholarly study.
