Franklin, Benjamin

Mémoires de la Vie Privée de Benjamin Franklin, écrits par lui-même, et adressés a son fils; suivis d'un précis historique de sa vie politique, et de plusieurs pièces, relatives à ce père de la liberté. Paris: chez Buisson, 1791



8vo (7 3/4 x 4 3/4 in.; 197 x 120 mm), two parts in one volume. Woodcut title vignette; light marginal spotting. Early 19th-century half calf and green boards, spine gilt with lyre ornament, gilt-stamped title label on spine, red edges, in a green cloth clamshell box; joints rubbed, corners bumped.

Copley bookplates

Grolier American 21; Howes F323; Sabin 25549; Ford 383

First edition of the first part of this renowned autobiography. This pirated edition appeared the year after Franklin's death. "The most widely read of all American autobiographies, the gift to adolescents of countless parents ... this book holds the essence of the American way of life" (Grolier).

This French translation of Franklin's 1771 manuscript covers the years 1706–1731 in the first part, and includes Wilmer's Memoirs of Franklin for the period after 1731 in the second part.