The Declaration of Independence

[peter74]

it is often difficult to choose whether to replicate the original or the movie version! :confused

 

[kalkamel]

That's why I made both.

@cjh5801, we have large format inkjet printing here but inkjet wouldn't work with my weathering methods, hence the need for laser printing.

 

[Moviefreak]

That's why I made both.

@cjh5801, we have large format inkjet printing here but inkjet wouldn't work with my weathering methods, hence the need for laser printing.

I usually age the paper first with tea and coffee and let it dry. I then print on it with the inkjet. Works perfectly that way

 

[Beechy McFly]

I was hoping for kalkamel's Movie Version.. I have a Movie Prop Collection, not a Historic Collection.. :love

 

[cjh5801]

I was hoping for kalkamel's Movie Version.. I have a Movie Prop Collection, not a Historic Collection...

I've seen the original, and have a framed full-sized cheap reproduction of the Stone print hanging in my dining room. Since I collect both movie and historical collectibles, I'd be interested in one of each. I hope Kalkamel will at least try aging a blank sheet of paper and then printing over it to see how it looks.

 

[kalkamel]

The printers' machine prints out paper in rolls rather than individual sheets so there's no possibility of me using my own pre-distressed paper. I've asked.

 

[tripoli]

For mine I used parchment sent through a large scale laser printer at Kinko's. I then aged mine.

 

[cjh5801]

The printers' machine prints out paper in rolls rather than individual sheets so there's no possibility of me using my own pre-distressed paper. I've asked.

Ah well, it was worth a shot. I had noticed that some large format inkjet printers that use rolls could also be hand fed individual sheets, but I suppose not all of them can. I hope something works out for you.

 

[Artemis]

This is simply a work of art. Thank you for sharing with us.

 

[Artemis]

Hi there Mark! I must say I really love the finish created with the Derwent pencils. Quick question- between the application of the artist pencils and the sepia pencils did you go over it with a paint brush and water. Or did you use the pencils and that was it. I would really like to try my hand at creating my own Declaration of Independance and would love to attempt this step. Kind regards.

I was very fortunate to acquire one of kalkamel's DOI's in a trade and when it arrived I couldn't have been happier. Not only had he taken the time to pack it carefully, but he had aged the whole document to his usual perfect standard - not too heavily and not too yellow. The paper kalkamel has used is a standard heavy-guage cartridge instead of the actual documents vellum parchment but I still liked the way it looked - being aged so well.

I have seen the original document in Washington and the thing that struck me most, is that its very faded - not like the dark, rich document Gates steals in National Treasure.

When I first unrolled the DOI, I noticed that the writing (though faded perfectly) was black. This didn't come as a surprise because I had read of the printing limitations kalkamel had encountered earlier in this thread. The black writing no withstanding, I was truly impressed with the overall impact of the documents presence. It was only after I put on my glasses later that evening that I noticed the very fine dot-matrix printing in all the writing. This did worry me but I had already decided that I would change all the writing to sepia so that it complimented the rest of his work properly.

Using Derwent Artists pencils instead of ink or paint (because I didn't want it leaching through the paper to the reverse), I overwrote the entire document from top to bottom, carefully tracing each word and letter. Once this very time consuming process was done, I went back over the writing with water soluble sepia pencil - to add in the darker blemishes to the writing and in the places where thick ink had pooled - again, with a light application to prevent leaching.

The result was to my eye a great transformation and I'm delighted with the result. The weathering is fantastic and the writing is now a great match to the color and the characteristics of the genuine Iron Gall Ink.

My thanks to this gifted artist for giving me the opportunity to own such a terrific - replica - piece of American history..

Highest regards

MARK

 

[KramStaar]

Hi there Mark! I must say I really love the finish created with the Derwent pencils. Quick question- between the application of the artist pencils and the sepia pencils did you go over it with a paint brush and water. Or did you use the pencils and that was it. I would really like to try my hand at creating my own Declaration of Independance and would love to attempt this step. Kind regards.

Cheers for the kind words.. In answer to your question, I used the pencils (only) on the faded text and water soluble pencils and a paint brush on the main headings and in places where the ink (in the middle) is thicker. The trick is to go lightly and make sure it doesn't end up looking contrived or overworked.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing how your's works out…

Kind regards

MARK

 

[Goodwolf]

Did you do the writing on the back by hand or did you find a good font? I'm working on a copy of this myself. Yours looks great.

 

[tripoli]

I was cleaning out my attic today and came across a set of copies 1 to 1 scale on parchment un-aged. If anyone is looking for a set, give me a pm.