Archivists delicately restore Declaration of Independence
Of all the historic documents, the Declaration of Independence is in the worst shape, a victim of its success. It was the most popular of the Revolutionary War documents, carted around by the Continental Congress for people to see, unrolled, touched, then rolled up again for the next trip.
When the British invaded Washington in 1814, the documents were bundled up in a coarse cotton bag and kept for a time in a gristmill outside the city until the redcoats left. For 35 years, the document was displayed at the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, where it was placed in direct sunlight that eventually caused the ink to fade. It also spent years at the State Department and Library of Congress, and was put on public display at the 1876 centennial celebration in Philadelphia. In World War II, it was taken to Fort Knox, where it was stored with the gold bullion from 1941 to 1944.
“It’s been loved to within an inch of its life,” said Archives spokeswoman Susan Cooper.