Price: $7,500.00
SKU: 102117
PUBLISHER: Published by James D. McBride, Washington, D.C.
MEDIUM: Stone engraving
DATE: 1876-78
EDITION SIZE: Image size 34 3/4 x 28 1/4" (83.8 x 71.8 cm)
DESCRIPTION: <b>An unusual historic broadside celebrating the July 4, 1876, Centennial of American Independence, with facsimile signatures of President Grant and all the members of the Federal Government. </b><br><br> This document was created by order of a special Act of Congress in order to honor that historic milestone. It is titled <b>The Administration of the United States Government at the Beginning of its 2nd Century, Washington, D.C. - July 4th, 1876.</b> On the morning of July 4th, the scroll was taken to the White House, where it was signed by President Grant and all his Cabinet members. (The vice president, Henry Wilson, had died in office, so there is no vice-presidential signature.) It was then conveyed to the Supreme Court Building where all the justices signed, and the court's official seal was added. Then to the Senate for a similar ceremony. The Secretary of Senate affixed his own signature attesting to the fact that he had witnessed the signings and added the official seal of the Senate. Then to the House of Representatives, where all the Congressmen and then the Territorial delegates signed. Once again, the Secretary of that body certified the signatures and added the official seal of the House of Representatives. A copy was made which was placed in a "centennial safe" in the Capitol.<br><br> From there the original document was sent to Philadelphia, where it was prominently displayed at the official celebration of the Centennial. The moving force behind the creation of the document was Gen. James D. McBride, and it was returned to his custody after the Centennial Exposition closed. McBride felt that just one thing was missing from this historic piece - the Great Seal of the United States. The Secretary of State is the custodian of the Great Seal, and so McBride asked Secretary William Evarts if it could be added. But Evart felt he lacked authority to affix the Seal to documents owned by private individuals. So back to Congress Gen. McBride went, and in January 1878 they passed another resolution, this one authorizing that the Great Seal be added to the historic document. <br><br> As the 1892 400th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the New World approached, McBride Resolved to create a similar piece to honor that occasion. Like the 1876 Centennial, it would be treated as an important event highlighted by the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The resulting document, a nearly exact replication of the 1876 version, joined its predecessor as the only two occasions in American history when documents not generated in the course of official business were affixed with the Great Seal, as well as the only two times when the Seal was so used by an Act of Congress. These were also the only two occasions we were able to identify when all members of the Federal government placed their signatures on a single document. <br><br> Not a great deal is known of creator of the work. James D. McBride. McBride was reported to have been a General from Ohio during the Civil War. He is known to have produced this document along with a version of the Declaration of Independence. There is a report in the official House of Representatives journal of 1879 where he asked the Select Committee on the Centennial to purchase the original document for $5,000. The committee advised the house not to do so as McBride was perfectly entitled to sell copies of his "Work of Art" as a legitimate private speculation. It is likely that this piece was not a big success as it very seldomly appears in the market today.<br><br> This entire history is discussed in The Eagle and the Shield, a 1976 book on the story of the Great Seal published by the U.S. State Department and the Bicentennial Administration (pp. 374-377).<br><br>
ADDITIONAL INFO: A very unusual and scarce piece.<br><br> Framed in it's original 2 1/2" flat oak molding with black inset. Glazed with UV protective Plexiglas. Overall framed size 33.75 x 43.5 inches.
CONDITION: Good condition save for faint wooden backing stains. Split along lower quarter. Professionally conserved. Original printed color on seals.
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