Second Annual Stillwell Lecture, Featuring John Bidwell
Location: The New York Society Library, 53 E 79th Street, New York, NY 10075
BSA President Kinohi Nishikawa invites members of the Margaret B. Stillwell Legacy Society to a special in-person lecture coinciding with the New York Book Fair.
This year’s talk will be delivered by John Bidwell on the print and graphic history of the Declaration of Independence, drawn from research he conducted for his new book, The Declaration in Script and Print: A Visual History of America’s Founding Document (PSU Press, 2024).
Members of the Stillwell Legacy Society are invited to attend with their guests. Want to join us? Become a member of the Legacy Society by remembering the BSA in your estate plan. It’s easier than you think!
John Bidwell is Curator Emeritus at the Morgan Library & Museum. He is the author of Graphic Passion: Matisse and the Book Arts, also published by Penn State University Press. He served as BSA President from 2004 to 2008.
The Declaration of Independence celebrates its 250th year in 2026, and Stillwell Society member John Bidwell’s talk will help us see how this founding document has been transmitted over time through innovations in printing and reproduction technology.
The Declaration in Script and Print: A Visual History of America’s Founding Document ↑
Perhaps the single most important founding document of the United States of America, the Declaration of Independence became both a work of art and a mass-market commodity during the nineteenth century. In this book, graphic arts historian John Bidwell traces the fascinating history of Declaration prints and broadsides and reveals the American public’s changing attitudes toward this iconic text.
The new and improved intaglio, letterpress, and lithographic printing technologies of the nineteenth century led to increasingly elaborate reproductions of the Declaration. Some were touted as precious relics; others were aimed at the bottom of the market. Rival publishers claimed to have produced the definitive visualization of the document, attacking the character and patriotism of other firms even as they promoted their own artistic abilities and attention to detail. Meanwhile, painter John Trumbull attempted to sell subscriptions for an engraved version of his Declaration painting, and John Quincy Adams—then secretary of state—commissioned an official 1823 edition in response to the feuding facsimilists seeking government patronage. Bidwell unravels the intricate web of rivalries surrounding these competing publications.
Featuring a comprehensive checklist of nearly two hundred prints and broadsides drawn from various collections, this engrossing history highlights the proliferation and widespread influence of the Declaration of Independence on American popular culture. It will be equally esteemed by general readers interested in American history, print and autograph collectors, and art and book historians.