This rare 1854 Batavia, Genesee Co., NY, July 4th broadside is printed on three pieces of paper, measures an astonishing 70 x 36 inches, and sports a relief-cut Bald Eagle measuring 9 x 17 inches. The broadside prominently headlines an oration by Sen. William Henry Seward (1801-1872), who was just then beginning to jockey for an 1856 Presidential nomination. (After the Republican party was formed, and Seward and Thurlow Weed joined it, Weed would convince Seward to wait till 1860.) Also prominently featured: balloon ascent by the great aeronaut John Wise (1808-1879), culinary delights, fireworks, and music. Seward, of course, would later become Secretary of State, survive an assassination attempt the night Lincoln was shot, and acquire Alaska from Russia. Experts consider Wise "the most experienced and distinguished aeronaut of his day, perhaps the greatest American balloonist of all time" (ANB, 1999).Professionally conserved and framed behind light-weight plexiglass: unprinted portions of corners replaced, wrinkled areas ironed and backed, two approximately one-inch horizontal strips slightly browned where sheets joined by paste or glue as originally displayed, other areas slightly soiled, yet a remarkably good and terrifically rare, perhaps unique intact survivor.