$8.14 million Declaration of Independence copy finds its way to Princess Cruises

It’ll soon be a particularly historic time to cruise into Juneau: For the week of July 4th, Princess Cruises will be offering passengers of its Alaska-based ships a glimpse of America’s founding document.

A rare, original copy of the Declaration of Independence will be exhibited July 1-8 for about two hours each on various ships, while the vessels are docked in Juneau.

The item on tour belongs to the nonprofit campaign Declare Yourself, founded by Norman Lear, and is one of an estimated 200 broadside copies of the document, according to a Princess Cruises press release. The copies, printed by John Dunlap, were produced for distribution to colonies and to King George of England.

Now how it found its way to Juneau in more recent times is fascinating: In 1989, a man in Pennsylvania purchased a framed painting for $4. He later found, between frame and painting, the copy of the historic document, which, it turns out, was the 25th remaining copy.

After it made its way through various homes, Norman and Lyn Lear bought the copy for $8.14 million. The couple made the purchase for the purpose of “bringing ‘the people’s document’ directly to the American people,” according to the Declare Yourself website.

So it turns out that the touring document can soon tick cruise-liners off its “must-see” list: On July 1, the copy will be showcased aboard Diamond Princess and Star Princess. It can be seen on Coral Princess on July 2, Island Princess on July 3, Pacific Princess and Golden Princess on July 6, and Sapphire Princess and Sea Princess on July 8.

Contact: Princess Cruises

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Declaration of Independence copy, as seen through a display frame. Credit: Declare Yourself]

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This entry was posted on Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 7:58 am by Susan Derby and is filed under Alaska, News, Tips & Advice, Tours & Cruises. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.