Common Press print studio at the University of Pennsylvania invites the public to learn, practice, and celebrate typesetting and letterpress printing during a year-long exploration of the materiality of the Declaration of Independence, in commemoration of its 250th anniversary in 2026.
The first edition of the Declaration of Independence was produced at John Dunlap’s Philadelphia printshop on the night of July 3, 1776. Using the best technology available at the time, the words were set in Caslon metal type and printed by a team of workers using a hand press. Common Press will use this grant to purchase new Caslon movable type, which will be used during fifteen free, public hands-on demonstrations, workshops, and events in the spring of 2026.
In several planned workshops, participants will creatively reinterpret text from the Declaration of Independence using movable type and letterpress printing. Additional open studio demonstrations will invite the public to print broadsides paying tribute to the printers, typesetters, and papermakers who made the Declaration of Independence.
“The Typography of Independence” project will culminate in a 24-hour event in May 2026, where the extended Philadelphia community will be invited to help typeset a historically accurate replica of the first edition of the Declaration of Independence, word by word.