Ken Griffin’s Other Copy of the U.S. Constitution Makes Its Museum Debut
By Richard Whiddington
One of only two privately held first printings of the U.S. Constitution is now on display at the South Street Seaport Museum in Lower Manhattan, as part of an exhibition marking the country’s 250th anniversary.
Of the roughly 500 copies of the Constitution that were printed for delegates to Philadelphia’s Constitutional Convention in September 1787, only 14 have survived. Twelve of these are held by institutions, such as the Library of Congress or the National Archives. The other two are owned by Ken Griffin, the billionaire financier and prominent art collector.
Cover of the Official Edition of the United States Constitution, September 17, 1787. Photo courtesy of the South Street Seaport Museum and Kenneth C. Griffin Collection.
The first of these acquisitions made an almighty splash. In 2021, Griffin paid $43.2 million for a copy of the Constitution at Sotheby’s, a record for any book, manuscript, or historic document. He outbid more than 17,000 cryptocurrency devotees, who had grouped together as ConstitutionDAO in the hope of purchasing the document and putting it on public display. Perhaps their concern was misplaced: in 2022, Griffin lent the copy to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas; in 2025, he sent it to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, where it will remain on public display through 2026.
News of the second acquisition, however, only arrived earlier this month via the New York Times. Known as the Adrian Van Sinderen copy after its longtime owner, it surfaced for the first time in more than a century at Sotheby’s in 2022, carrying a high estimate of $30 million, a record figure for a historic manuscript. Once again, a band of blockchain believers launched another DAO to buy the Constitution. This time, the lot was pulled hours before the auction. Sotheby’s cited the interest of institutional parties that needed more time to fundraise.
Sign up for our daily newsletter.
Page Six of the Official Edition of the United States Constitution, September 17, 1787. Photo courtesy of the South Street Seaport Museum and Kenneth C. Griffin Collection.
Sometime in the interim, Griffin acquired the Van Sinderen copy for an undisclosed sum and has now lent it to the South Street Seaport Museum for “The Promise of Liberty: Words That Shaped a Nation,” a full-floor show that pulls together a host of important documents that tell the story of freedom in America.
“The Constitution is far more than a founding document—it is one of humanity’s greatest achievements and a testament to the promise of America,” Griffin said in a statement to the New York Times. “As we approach our nation’s 250th anniversary, broadening access to it invites the next generation to discover its meaning, cherish its ideals, and carry forward the principles that continue to shape and strengthen our country.”
The Declaration of Independence on show at the South Street Seaport Museum. Photo: Richard Bowditch, South Street Seaport Museum.
Alongside Griffin’s Constitution, “The Promise of Liberty” offers a local copy of the Declaration of Independence that was printed in Salem, Massachusetts, and an early printing of the Bill of Rights from March 1789—it was ratified in December 1791. Later documents trace America’s ongoing pursuit of liberty into the 19th and 20th centuries, including an early printing of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, an advanced draft of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and a poster from 1918 listing 12 reasons why women should be granted the vote.
Elsewhere, the exhibition focuses on New York, laying out how the city has played a central role in America’s pursuit of liberty as a major port and printing hub.
In December last year, Griffin added to his collection of historic American documents, once again at Sotheby’s. He bought copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment for $13.7 million and $4.4 million, respectively, both records for the documents.
“The Promise of Liberty: Words That Shaped a Nation” is on view at South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St, New York.
This article was originally published by Artnet News.