Event box

While there are many versions of the printed Declaration of Independence, including the Dunlap Broadside on display in the “Nursery of Rebellion” exhibition at Princeton University Library, the first bearing the names of the signers was printed in Baltimore in January 1777 by a woman named Mary Katharine Goddard.

Martha King, historian of early America with a special interest in women’s history and print culture, will kick off our program discussing how and why Goddard’s Unanimous Declaration of Independence came to be. 
 
Artist Mindy Belloff will continue the program with a discussion of her re-creation of the Unanimous Declaration of Independence, as originally designed and printed by Goddard. This meticulous year-long project involved research and commissioning of the typeface and paper, hand setting each individual letter in metal type, and letterpress printing an edition of 100 copies, as a tribute to Goddard, a remarkable Colonial American woman.

This special event in PUL’s Special Collections department will include a showcase of related items. Refreshments will be served after the talk and showcase, providing an opportunity for questions.

Image: United States, Goddard, M. K. & Continental Congress Broadside Collection. (1777) In Congress, July 4, . The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America. [Baltimore, in Maryland: Printed by Mary Katharine Goddard] [Online Text] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/90898037/.

Date:
Friday, June 26, 2026
Time:
5:00pm - 6:30pm
Location:
Special Collections Large Classroom - C Floor
Audience:
  First-Year Graduate Students     Friends of Princeton University Library     Independent Scholar / Outside Researcher     Member of the Public     Princeton Alumni     Princeton Faculty/Researcher     Princeton Graduate Students     Princeton Staff     Princeton Student     Princeton Undergraduate Students     Student Friends of Princeton University Library  
Categories:
  Events  

Registration is required. There are 28 seats available.

Dr. Martha J. King, is a historian of early America with a special interest in women’s history and print culture. She is Senior Editor with the Papers of Thomas Jefferson editorial project at Princeton and is completing a book on women printers of the Revolutionary Era.

Artist Mindy Belloff publishes fine letterpress printed editions in New York City. She creates books, prints, and mixed media installations presented through a feminist lens. Ms. Belloff holds a Master of Arts from New York University. Her award-winning editions are widely collected.

 

To request disability-related accommodations for this event, please contact pulcomm@princeton.edu at least 3 working days in advance.