America 250: Iconic Stone Declaration of Independence copy on view in Louisville

By RUSS BROWN • Photos Provided

The original parchment of the Declaration of Independence with the signatures of all 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress, who unanimously approved the document on July 4, 1776, has been on permanent public display in the rotunda of the National Archives Building in Washington DC since 1952.

However, the image most familiar to Americans is the engraving of the Declaration by Wiliam J. Stone in 1823 because it's the reproduction most illustrated in history books, displayed in schools, libraries and sold as souvenirs.

Only about 30 of Stone's copperplate facsimiles of the Declaration, part of 200 copies in parchment that were commissioned by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, are estimated to still be in existence. And Kentuckiana residents can get a closeup look at one, thanks to prominent Louisville attorney Mark Malloy and his family.

This rare 203-year-old piece of American history was unveiled in January at the Sons of the American Revolutionary Genealogical Library in downtown Louisville and will remain on display until Labor Day weekend as part of the city's America250 celebration.

"We are so fortunate here in Louisville that we have an incredibly rare original of the Stone copy for our community and our nation to see firsthand," Mayor Craig Greenberg said at the unveiling. "To be reminded of the ideals and challenge to keep working towards the goals set forth in the Declaration of Independence."

How it got here is a story in itself primarily due to Mark's father William P. Malloy, a Male High and University of Louisville graduate, and a U.S. Army veteran during WWII who became a collector of manuscripts and art after setting up his law practice in Louisville.

 "It's as fascinating as it can be," Mark -- who describes himself as a "history nut" -- said of the origins of the Declaration, the copies that followed, and how one of the artifacts came into his dad's possession. "Manuscripts and art, those were passions dad had; he was a lover of history."

By 1820 the original document was deteriorating, so Jefferson ordered the production of 200 copies to ensure its survival for future generations and hired Stone, an engraver in Philadelphia, to produce a copper plate engraving.

"It was a wet ink transfer onto the plate, and he produced the exact size, 24x30, literally identical," Mark said. "Then Congress authorized 200 copies printed on parchment, designed to be able to be preserved longer. Copies were distributed to the surviving signers, government officials, universities and others. William Malloy learned from the head of the International Manuscript Society that a copy was in the Scriptorium in Beverly Hills, Calif. (which is now closed). He contacted the owner, had it authenticated, then purchased it.

"His intent had always been not to keep the document for himself, but to give back to this community," Mark said. "He was incredibly proud of what he had been able to achieve with a public school education here in Jefferson County. He was a lover and collector of art, manuscripts, documents of all kinds, but first and foremost, he loved this community. And if there is one word among many that would define my family and my family members, I would use the word patriots."

So William gifted the copy to Jefferson County in 1986.

Then Jefferson County Judge Executive Harvey Sloane said at the time that the gift was fitting for a county named after Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence and whose statue, named the Jefferson Monument, in front of Louisville Metro Hall (formerly the Jefferson County Courthouse) was dedicated in 1901.

The document sat in a climate-controlled cabinet in the rotunda of the Courthouse for years until the case began deteriorating, prompting a transfer in 2014 to a climate-controlled storage area in the UofL Archives. Finally, a decision was made to bring it back out into public view to correlate with the 250th anniversary celebration.

Mark Malloy said he inherited his own love of history not just from his dad, but also his mother, Katie, who met William when both were serving as law clerks at different firms in nearby buildings in downtown Louisville.

"Mother was every bit as much a lover of history as pop," Mark said. "For a person with no further education than high school, my mother was one of the most well-informed, well-read people I ever knew. My two brothers and I all very much inherited from both our parents their love of history. Not just in this community, but in the nation and the world too."

However, he noted that his interest in Louisville's copy of the document and its current access to the public goes beyond his parents' influence.

"I'm not passionate about this because it's something my family did," he said. "I'm passionate about this because I really do think it's pretty darn cool. Think about the history of this country and what the Declaration of Independence embodies. If we are still the society that I hope to goodness we are, and if we do embody the ideals I honest to goodness hope we still do… then it's just really pretty daggone cool that something as rare as this is here, and we have a chance to use it as a community to perhaps open eyes, maybe help educate the next generation." 

Drew Hight, marketing and public relations manager for the SAR Library, said the free exhibit has been popular, although he didn't have specific numbers.

The SAR library at 809 West Main St. (across from Louisville Slugger Museum) is open from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. M-F and the third Saturday of every month from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. After Saturday, Sept. 5, it will be returned to a storage facility at UofL. Hight said no concrete plans have been made to display the Stone document again in the future, but that possibility hasn't been ruled out. Additional information may be obtained at https://library.sar.org/the-1823-stone-declaration/.