Digest Winter 2026 Jonathan Shipley

A Revolutionary Collector

Photo by Vincent Dilio, courtesy David M. Rubenstein

David M. Rubenstein’s collection of Revolutionary-era printings includes rare items like this May 17, 1778, document from Congress establishing an American army.

In 1823, Thomas Jefferson recalled a pivotal moment in American history: “I consented; I drew it; but before I reported it to the committee, I communicated it separately to Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams requesting their corrections … I then wrote a fair copy, reported it to the committee; and from them, unaltered to Congress.” That fair copy was the Declaration of Independence. Congress reconvened on July 1, 1776. The document was considered that day and reviewed and revised for the next few days after. On the afternoon of July 4, Congress officially adopted it. 

Two copies of that document are on view in Declaring the Revolution: America’s Printed Path to Independence at the New York Historical in New York City through April 12, 2026. One is an exceedingly rare first newspaper appearance in the Pennsylvania Evening Post. The other is a State Department engraving of the original engrossed copy. 

Photo by Vincent Dilio, courtesy David M. Rubenstein

Thomas Paine, Common Sense; Addressed to the Inhabitants of America […] (Philadelphia: Bradford, 1776). 

These, and many other documents on view, were collected by David M. Rubenstein, a lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist. “The benefit of seeing this particular exhibition is that [it] explains what we celebrate every Fourth of July: the birth of our democracy,” he said. “Not knowing how our democracy came to be makes protecting it difficult.”

The exhibition celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by tracing the development of the ideas and beliefs of the American Revolution. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New York Historical, said, “Through historical printings, the origins of the ‘American experiment’ are on display, allowing us to reflect on how we live and fulfill the ideals of our nation today.”

Today is a fractious time. Rubenstein is well aware. “I think in times of division it’s worth remembering how we became a union.” He added, “There are lessons to be learned in how independence was gained. Ideas alone don’t give us our country; we needed shared sacrifice and national cooperation.”

The exhibition starts with the Stamp Act of 1765 and ends with the Articles of the Confederation, adopted in November 1777. Betwixt these foundational documents are significant printed works related to the American Revolution. These trace, said Mirrer, “the emergence of our nation through a shared belief in the power of the people and the promise of democracy.” 

Photo by Vincent Dilio, courtesy David M. Rubenstein

left: [The Stamp Act] An Act for Granting and Applying Certain Stamp Duties […] in the British Colonies and Plantations in America (London: Baskett, 1765). middle: Bloody Butchery by the British Troops, Or, the Runaway Fight of the Regulars […] (Salem: Russell, 1775). right: Benjamin Franklin, The Examination of Doctor Benjamin Franklin, before an August Assembly […] (Philadelphia Hall and Sellers, 1766). 

There are engravings, proclamations, and pamphlets, like Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, an electrifying call for independence from Great Britain. Many of the documents have a lineage to Magna Carta, which laid the groundwork for individual rights and constitutional government. During the American Revolution, it was an article of faith to Americans and underpinned their grievances with Great Britain.

The only copy of Magna Carta in private hands is held by Rubenstein. The first time he ever bid at an auction was in 2017, when Sotheby’s was selling a copy dated 1297. “I wanted to make sure it remained in the United States, because it is the progenitor of the Declaration of Independence.”

Photo by Vincent Dilio, courtesy David M. Rubenstein

“La Destruction de la Statue Royale a Nouvelle Yorck” (Paris: [after François Xavier Habermann], 1776). 

He later put it on long-term loan at the National Archives. Every document he’s acquired since has been connected to his public-facing philanthropic work. “The ideal way to view history is through original printings,” he said.

At the New York Historical, that includes printings related to the Continental Congress and Continental Army. “Representatives and troops from one colony working in service with another,” Rubenstein said, “before we were even a country.”

250 years later, we still are a country, though it seems ever more tenuous. Rubenstein’s hope is that visitors will become familiar with the deeper story of American independence, “and leave being inspired to protect democracy.”