Searching for Fourth of July family activities? Look no further than the University of Virginia’s Small Special Collections Library, where visitors can find “history you can hold.” On Saturday, July 4, 2026, Special Collections will be hosting Revolutionary Printing — a daylong celebration of the materials, crafts, and stories of the founding era. The event, which is free and open to the public, is in coordination with the UVA250 series of programs exploring America’s 250th anniversary.
Revolutionary Printing craft activities include making beadwork, printer’s hats, sewing samplers, and screen-printing keepsakes to take home. Attendees can also listen to music of the American Revolution, have custom silhouettes made of themselves, and view demonstrations of hand-making paper and mixing iron gall ink. And the centerpiece of the celebration will of course be the document that bolstered the American Revolution: The Declaration of Independence.
Early printings of the Declaration on display
UVA Library is one of the few institutions in the world to have two early printings of the Declaration of Independence, known as Dunlap broadsides. The moniker refers to printer John Dunlap, who worked through the night of July 4, 1776, to print the first 200 copies of the Declaration, which had just been approved by the Second Continental Congress earlier that day.
“UVA will be the only place on Earth on July 4, 2026, to see two Dunlap broadsides of the Declaration in one city on one day,” said Holly Robertson, Curator of University Library Exhibitions and one of the main organizers of the Revolutionary Printing event. In addition to viewing the Dunlap broadsides, attendees can print their own reproductions of the Declaration or sign a giant copy of it on site.
Special ‘250’ exhibitions
Revolutionary Printing visitors can view one of the Dunlap broadsides in UVA Library’s ongoing “Declaring Independence” exhibition of the Albert H. Small Declaration of Independence Collection, located on the first floor of the Harrison/Small building. Special Collections will also be hosting two additional exhibitions in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary:
“Self-Evident: The Ideas and Events that Shaped the Declaration”
Curated by Special Collections staff member George Riser, this exhibition explores the powerful ideas and turbulent events that forged American independence through rare books, maps, and documents of the Revolutionary era.
These materials include the poem “De Rerum Natura” by the early Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius, which likely influenced Thomas Jefferson to include the phrase “the pursuit of liberty” in the Declaration of Independence; “Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer,” a series of twelve dissident essays written by politician John Dickinson in 1768 in response to the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts; and “A Summary View of the Rights of British America,” which Jefferson wrote in 1774 to be read at the Virginia House of Burgess.
“Self-Evident” is on view from June 24 to September 11, 2026, in the First Floor Gallery of the Special Collections Library (view hours and directions).
“Declaring Independence: News of a New Nation”
When the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, how did the news actually travel? Through post riders, colonial newspapers, town square and tavern readings, and transatlantic ships, a new nation announced itself to the world. Curated by Stan Gunn, the Library’s Associate Dean for Information Technology, this exhibition explores the broadsides, gazettes, and dispatches that carried the American story across the colonies and internationally, igniting a global movement of revolution and democracy.
“News of a New Nation” includes a comprehensive timeline of events leading to American independence and beyond, from the end of the French and Indian War to the wave of revolutions that swept Europe from the late 18th to mid-19th centuries. Through maps, it traces the Declaration’s journey across the American colonies after its July 1776 printing and examines international reaction to the document through British newspapers.
“News of a New Nation” is on view in the UVA Rotunda through July 15, 2026 (view hours).
Revolutionary Printing runs from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. on July 4 at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library (directions). Be sure to visit the Revolutionary Printing website for certain event registrations. All events are free. Free parking is available at UVA’s Central Grounds Garage.
