Franklin, Benjamin | A rare issue of Poor Richard's Almanack

Franklin, Benjamin

Poor Richard Improved: Being an Almanack and Ephemeris of the Motions of the Sun and Moon ... For the Year of our Lord 1754. Philadelphia: B. Franklin and D. Hall, [1753]

12mo (170 x 104 mm). Woodcut zodiac man and monthly panels; without the advertisement on verso of E4. Expertly bound to style in 19th century dark green morocco, spine gilt with raised bands, marbled endpapers.

Rare issue of Poor Richard's Almanack, written and published by Benjamin Franklin.

All issues of Poor Richard's Almanack prior to 1758—Franklin's last year as author—are rare. In the preface of the present 1753 edition of Franklin's famous almanac, he discusses the history of almanac makers (primarily, by his own admission, just to fill the page), followed by statistics on the population of New Jersey, a receipt for curing gammons, followed by astrological information. The calendar is interspersed with the conclusion of his essay "On Idea of the Creator from his Works." The final two leaves list court days in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York, as well as post road routes and Quaker meetings. Two issues are noted: the present without the advertisement on verso of E4.

REFERENCE: 

Campbell 510; Drake 9756; Evans 7003; Ford 92; Hildeburn 1325; Miller 570; ESTC W22788