Jump to content
Free downloads from TNA ×
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Help! Please! Identify this document


trouble8732

Recommended Posts

I found this in a storage unit and i have looked at everything online and can find nothing like it.. any help would be greatly appreciated.. says pic is to large to upload so here is a link to it on photobucket.. GEDC0077.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Trouble8732,

Welcome to the Forum can you post it the right way up getting a crook in the neck trying to read it.

Cheers

Hiram

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just find it strange that I cant find any info online and museums ive gone to know nothing about it


Im in Georgia! and ive went through the library of documents that the government has on ww1 and cant find it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the tiny print in the bottom just tells the event date.. The sixty-fifth congress, the war congress,met at noon April 2, 1917,pursuant to the proclamation of the president of the united states. The hon. Thomas R. Marshall, Vice president, presided over the senate, and the Hon Champ Clark, from Missouri, presided over the House of representatives. The resolution declaring a state of war to exist between the united state and the imperial German government, was introduced by senator Martian, of Virginia, was passed by the senate April 4 1917, by the house of representatives on April 5 1917 and approved by president Wilson on April 6, 1917


ill call them tomorrow they already closed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No wonder it took them so long to get involved if they had to wait on every one signing this Document from both Houses, must have been a mammoth task. I would say if its original and not a printed copy then its a unique Historical document.

Kind regards

Hiram

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd be very surprised if it's an original document as that should be safely tucked away in US Government archives.

As suggested by ph0ebus, it might be a reprint from a newspaper but I wonder if it could be a facsimile of the original document, perhaps given to those who signed it as a "souvenir".

Have had a quick look at the US Senate website but have so far been unable to find a way of contacting them about historical rather than current matters. I wonder if it would be worth asking the US Embassy in London. There doesn't seem to be a general email address for the Embassy, but the link I have provided gives the postal address.

Please keep us posted as we'd love to know the outcome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just discovered that the US Department of State which deals with international affairs has an "Office of the Historian". Contact details, including a general email address, are here. Might be better to try this department rather than the US Embassy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have talked to over 20 people in Washington dc and no one knows what this is, they are all saying it must be a very rare piece and I need to have an appraisal done on it. Now my question and problem is, if its that rare how would an appraiser be able to give me a number value? also, where do I find the right appraiser?? Guys this is insane!! Yall may do stuff like this all the time but im just a poor ole country boy from a one horse town in Alabama!! I dont know if this thing is gonna make me rich or what lol...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The United States Publishing Company appear to have in part specialised in producing facsimile editions of government documents (Federal, State and even Confederate) Thus for example they produced copies of Jefferson Davis's official papers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As previously commented, this is certainly a contemporary print...of something... The fact that the printed text in the corner cites all the dates of events (that, in theory, would have been happening to this very document if it was the original) confirms this.

Also the signatures are far too well organised for them to have actually been signed on a single document (swirly 'y's fitting nicely into gaps in the signature below - none actually overlapping etc).

Imagine this document was produced shortly after the declaration by the USPC, putting together images of the signatures into a 'made up' document to commemorate the event.

Having said that, I cannot find any reference to it, or images of it, on line, which indicates this was not widely produced, so will have some value to US military history collectors (but suspect you will have to keep the day job, Trouble!).

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depending on what it it is actually worth it may or may not pay to have it professionally cleaned and perhaps restored. I would suspect the glue and the backing board are contributing to its deterioration.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cripes! I must look out all my 1970's 'Jackdaw Publications' facsimile folders from the attic. If this document is valuable then I must be sitting on a gold mine! ;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would check with The Library of Congress (http://catalog.loc.gov/) particularly the "Ask a Librarian" link at the top. Or you could get a good antique documents expert to check it out. (Is Antiques Roadshow coming your way soon?) Could the "400" on the back refer to the number of printed copies? It's worth looking into.

Mike Morrison

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...