Volunteer Finds Rare Exeter Printing of US Declaration of Independence in UK Archives

A volunteer at the National Archives in Kew discovered one of only 11 known surviving copies of the 1776 Exeter printing of the US Declaration of Independence while cataloguing previously unrecorded 18th-century Royal Navy papers in late May. The single-sheet document is the only known example of this printing located outside the United States.

It had stayed folded inside a volume of captains' correspondence for more than two centuries.

Scurr, who has volunteered at the archives for 11 years, came across the broadside while sorting enclosures attached to a letter. " After unfolding several pages, Scurr noticed the heading "Declaration" in large type. He immediately called a colleague and was instructed to keep the find confidential while curators examined it.

The Exeter printing was produced to spread news of American independence quickly among other British colonies. The copy now at Kew was taken when British forces captured an American privateer vessel on Christmas Eve 1776. The National Archives already held three other official printings of the Declaration; none matched the rarity of the newly identified Exeter edition.

Conservation staff have removed creases and prepared the document for display. It will be shown at the archives' Revolution 250 exhibition covering the period 1763-1783. >"This is an extraordinary discovery.