Ear: Declaration

North Coast American history buffs might want to watch this Christie’s auction, which is set to take place Jan. 24 in New York City. The item of interest going on the block is the 39-page “The Jones Declaration of Independence,” handwritten by Samuel Jones circa 1788.

“Jones penned the Declaration as it appears within the text of what stands as the earliest complete manuscript of the 1777 New York State Constitution — the only state constitution to quote the Declaration’s text in full,” Christie’s website says. “Jones likely penned this manuscript in 1788 for use in the New York Ratification Convention … “

Christie’s says it’s the “only 18th century manuscript of the Declaration of Independence known to be held privately.” All that’s revealed of the provenance is as follows: Samuel Jones (1734-1819), then his son, David S. Jones (1777-1848). On Jan. 19, 1887, the manuscript was presented to the New York Law Institute by Charles W. Sloan (1850-1929).

Now that you know a bit about the document’s history, you’d better start rounding up the cookie jars if you want to bid on it … it’s expected to fetch between $2 million and $3 million. (Image: Christie’s)