Jefferson, Thomas, third President

Autograph letter signed (Th: Jefferson"), one page (7 3/4 x 6 7/8 in.; 195 x 175 mm, sight), Paris, 5 July 1785 to either James Monroe, James Madison, or Samuel Hardy, being a letter of introduction for Benjamin Franklin's grandson, William Temple Franklin. Matted, glazed and frame with a portrait of Jefferson.

Christie's (sale, 29 October 2001, lot 56)

 Catanzariti, ed., The Papers of Thomas Jefferson 27: 748 (Supp.). See also, Jefferson's partially coded letter to James Monroe, Paris, 5 July 1785 in  Boyd, ed. PTJ 8:261–263 

Autograph letter signed (Th: Jefferson"), one page (7 3/4 x 6 7/8 in.; 195 x 175 mm, sight), Paris, 5 July 1785 to either James Monroe, James Madison, or Samuel Hardy, being of letter of introduction for Benjamin Franklin's grandson, William Temple Franklin. Matted, glazed and frame with a portrait of Jefferson.
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A letter of introduction on behalf of Benjamin Franklin's grandson, William Temple Franklin, the only one of three known to exist. Appointed minister plenipotentiary to France in May 1784, Jefferson worked closely with Benjamin Franklin for nearly a year in Paris and immensely benefited from Franklin's company as well as from his numerous introductions. "Franklin had introduced Jefferson to the pro-American aristocrats and intellectuals in the salons that had made him their prize. the friends of Dr. Franklin became the early friends of Jefferson in Paris" (Randall, Thomas Jefferson, p. 87).

Here Jefferson reciprocates the politesse by writing a warm letter of recommendation on behalf of Franklin's grandson  to his fellow Virginians and statesmen, James Madison, James Monroe, and Samuel Hardy: "The bearer hereof, Mr. Franklin, being about to return to America, I take the liberty of presenting him to your acquaintance. Your esteem for the character of his grandfather would have procured him a favourable reception with you: and it cannot but increase your desire to know him, when you shall be assured that his worth & qualifications give him a personal claim to it. I have taken the liberty of assuring him how much I value your friendship myself, and am persuaded you wil both be obliged to me for bringing you together."

William Temple Franklin was the son of Banjamin's Franklin's son William, the Royal Governor of New Jersey. William Temple supported the cause of independence despite his father's steadfast loyalty to the King. He served as his grandfather's personal secretary in Paris and latered edited his papers.