Princess scores coup with Declaration of Independence for July 4
Princess Cruises will have an original copy of the Declaration of Independence on board its ships in Alaska during the week of July 4, and passengers will be invited to see this historic statement written and signed by the founding fathers of the United States.
In partnership with the non-profit organization Declare Yourself, the declaration will be showcased aboard all Princess ships calling in Juneau from July 1 through 8. This will mark the first time a copy of the Declaration has visited Alaska and the first time a cruise line has shown the famous document.
The Declaration will be on display aboard the vessels for about two hours while each ship is docked in Juneau. The document will be shown aboard Diamond Princess and Star Princess on July 1; 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.
Declare Yourself, founded by television producer Norman Lear, is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign that was founded in 2003 to empower and encourage every eligible 18-year-old in America to register to vote.
This is the only copy of the Declaration of Independence that tours. Declare Yourselfs copy is one of an estimated 200 original broadside copies about the size of a sheet of newspaper printed by John Dunlap in Philadelphia shortly after it was drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1776.
Dunlaps prints were distributed across the colonies and to King George in England. This copy was accidently uncovered in 1989 when a Pennsylvania shopper bought a frame at a flea market for $4.
Later, while inspecting a tear in the back of the painting, he discovered a piece of paper wedged between the frame and painting. He pulled it out and uncovered what would soon be authenticated as the 25th remaining copy of the Declaration of Independence. The document changed hands several times and was purchased in 2000 by Lyn and Norman Lear for $8.14 million, with the goal of bringing the document directly to the American people.
Article ID: ART886
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