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"By lettering the Declaration of Independence in the unique way
I did, I was paying tribute to the importance of the document
and to its author, Thomas Jefferson. I hope it will rekindle
interest in the document and what it says about the people and
conditions at the time of the American Revolution, and what
they had to endure to see the fulfillment of the document.
This Declaration is more than a list of grievances. It is a
graphic expression of the moving force which changed a country.
It is a declaration of Freedom which we need to respect and
protect even today."
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"When I first began this project, I discovered there were many
discrepancies among the several versions of the Declaration of
Independence. I decided as an Engrosser to follow as closely
as possible the Timothy Matlack
engrossed copy. My full-sized document is very close to the
29 3/4" x 24 1/4" size of that original document at 29" x 20".
When lettering, I followed the capitalization and punctuation
used by Matlack. The only changes I made from his copy were
in updating the spelling and grammar, and then only after
checking both Thomas Jefferson's original handwritten copy and
broadside printed by John Dunlap. Even these changes were few
and could not be found but by the closest examination.
For the heading of the document I used the wording of the
engrossed copy as directed by Congress, but I used the style of
lettering used on Dunlap's broadside for aesthetic reasons.
The resulting document is one which I hope others will find both
visually pleasing and of historical interest."
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or David Hobbs, Thomas Jefferson as architect had a strong
appeal in his decision to illustrate the man behind the document in this rendering of the
Declaration.