Russian Princes M. S. and S. M. M. Vorontsov and the archival copy of the copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence of 1776
Authors:   Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, Andreeva Galina N. 
Published: December 2024

The article reveals the dating and analyzes the significance of the copy of the copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence of 1776, kept in the fund of M. S. and S. M. Vorontsovs of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (RGADA). M. Vorontsovs in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (RGADA). Multiplication of copies of the original act from the moment of its adoption took place many times and often in significant editions. In order to assess the degree of uniqueness of the copy under study, such criteria as the time and place of its creation, prevalence and connection of the copy as an artifact with famous historical figures were used in the process of the study. The study of the archival document in accordance with the above criteria allowed us to identify the country of its origin (France), the printing house where it was printed (15 Quai Voltaire in Paris) and the artist who made the facsimile (F. Lepel). Reference to the activities of the partnership Kaeppelin & Cie, which owned the printing house, and the biography of the owner E. Kaeppelin, allowed us to suggest the time frame of its creation (mid-19th century), to attribute the document differently than it is done in the Russian State Archive of Documents and to link its appearance with specific representatives of the family of M. S. and S. M. Vorontsov. M. M. Vorontsov family. According to the author of the article, it is most likely that the copy was sent by mail or courier to Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (1782-1836), prince, governor-general of Novorossiysk province and governor of the Bessarabian region, but the possibility that his son Semyon Mikhailovich Vorontsov (1823-1882), who served in the Department of External Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire, acquired the document is not excluded. Only one more copy of this circulation is known. The article concludes that this archival copy is valuable both because of its rarity and its connection to the history, political and cultural life of three countries - the United States, France and Russia. For the United States, this document is evidence of probably the first production in Europe of a known facsimile copy of the Declaration of Independence with the signatures of congressional participants. It shows the interest of Europeans in this normative act. For France, the significance of this document is connected, first of all, with the printing activities of the partnership Kaeppelin & Cie, which made a significant contribution both to the development of lithography and zinc printing in the country and to the distribution of artworks exhibited in various museums around the world and collectors' collections. For Russia, the copy of the archival document is another important evidence of the interest of such representatives of the Russian political elite as M. S. and S. M. Vorontsovs. M. S. and S. M. Vorontsovs' interest in the political life of the United States and its wide and varied cultural ties.