{"product_id":"texas-declaration-of-independence-travis-victory-or-death-letter-2-fine-art-print-set","title":"Texas Declaration of Independence \u0026 Travis' \"Victory or Death\" Letter (2 fine art prints)","description":"\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"color: #783f04;\"\u003e\"Icons of Texas Liberty\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #783f04;\"\u003e\"\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHere are two icons of Texas liberty. We have produced them as a set, uniform in size (18 by 24 inches) and tone, perfect for hanging side by side or as bookends for a great Texas map.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBelow is a little about each one, some historical tidbits you may not have known, along with what makes our reproductions different and special. Read on...\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #746d5e;\"\u003eAbout the Travis Letter:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003eCol. William Barrett Travis'\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eVictory or Death\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003eletter has been called a masterpiece of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAmerican Patriotism, but the letter reached \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethe world at large in a slightly different form \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethan he intended.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen they printed the original broadside at \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSan Felipe de Austin, Baker \u0026amp; Borden changed\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e a few words, omitted the address line and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ealtered the salutation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat's the form that\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e made it into the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTelegraph and Texas Register, which was \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecopied by the New Orleans papers on \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMarch 16 and finally arrived in Washington DC\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e on March 31. It wasn't until mid April that \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethe text was printed in the New England papers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThose New Englanders were the first to read it \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewith the poignancy that you and I experience, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eas they had already learned the fate of Travis \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand the Alamo defenders.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHere it is: Restored to the form Travis intended.\u003c\/strong\u003e  The type is clean, clear and legible.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003eIt's designed to remind you\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e of the men of the Alamo and their commander... of the sacrifice they willingly made for the cause of liberty. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt's not just a pretty picture to hang on your wall. It stands for something.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #746d5e;\"\u003eAbout the Declaration:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThere are lots of Texas Declaration\u003c\/strong\u003e of Independence facsimiles available, but they are uniformly small, somewhat crudely printed, and hard to read. That's not surprising if you know the history of the original document. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen the Declaration was\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e finished and signed at Washington-on-the-Brazos, a rider was dispatched to San Felipe de Austin with a handwritten copy. Gail Borden worked through the night to set the type and begin to print 1,000 copies on 13 by 16 inch paper. Borden used the same small type he used to print his newspaper, the \u003cem\u003eTelegraph \u0026amp; Texas Register\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBefore 1944, almost no one\u003c\/strong\u003e in Texas had ever seen what one of those original printings looked like. That was the year Lou Kemp completed his book on the signers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eHe wanted something special to give away with the limited edition of the book, so Andrew Jackson Houston allowed his father's copy to be photographed to produce a facsimile.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAll the reproductions you find today are third and fourth generation copies to Lou Kemp's facsimile. And it shows.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe problem is this:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e out of those 1,000 copies initially printed by Borden, there are only 12 still in existence and only 2 remain in private hands. None of the owners are in a hurry to hand over their million dollar document to be scanned or photographed to create better facsimiles.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSo here's what we did:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eWe completely re-typeset the declaration, being careful to keep the form true to the original. Each line is of the correct character length, every comma is in place and period spelling is retained. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe type is clean, clear and legible. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIt makes a statement. Hang it on your wall and people will notice. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan class=\"txt4\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #783f04;\"\u003ePhysical Details\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEach is 18 by 24 inches (fits in a standard frame)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrinted using archival inks \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOn heavyweight fine-art paper\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"dfltt calign txt3\"\u003eThese are high quality fine-art prints.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"txt4\"\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe paper is heavyweight fine-art. It is acid free, cold pressed, with an elegant ever so lightly textured finish. This surface allows the inks to 'bite', reproducing the shading and tonality of the original map vividly, beautifully, and exactly. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe inks are guaranteed color-fast for 80 years, which means you won't need to lay out the extra money for UV glass. You can hang your map in direct sun and it will be just as bright when they are passed on to the next generation it is the day it ships.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Copano Bay Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47521515012317,"sku":null,"price":69.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0653\/6595\/files\/texas-declaration-of-independence-travis-victory-or-death-letter-2-print-set-988226.png?v=1731650457","url":"https:\/\/copanobaypress-gallery.com\/products\/texas-declaration-of-independence-travis-victory-or-death-letter-2-fine-art-print-set","provider":"Copano Bay Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}