[Benjamin Franklin (& Richard Jackson)] | The Interest of Great Britain, Bradford imprint

[Benjamin Franklin (& Richard Jackson)]

The Interest of Great Britain Considered, with Regard to her Colonies, and the Acquisition of Canada and Guadaloupe. To which are added, observations concerning the increase of mankind, peopling of countries. London Printed, Philadelphia: Re-printed, and Sold by William Bradford, at the London-Coffee-House, 1760

8vo (215 x 130 mm, uncut). Decorative initials and tail-pieces; title-page stained and rehinged with repairs to inner margin, browned, a few stray spots, marginal repairs to final text leaf. Rebound by Papuchyan in modern paneled calf, signed H&H Bindery to lower turn-in, blind-tooled with decorative cornerpieces, border gilt-ruled, spine gilt-lettered, modern marbled endpapers. Housed in a custom clamshell case.

A William Bradford imprint of Franklin and Jackson's argument for the British retention of Canada.

Written during the French and Indian War, this treatise argued that Britain should prioritize protecting its holdings in Canada rather than Guadeloupe, in response to Charles Townshend's Remarks on the Letter Addressed to Two Great Men. The pamphlet also includes Franklin's discussion of the inevitable population growth of the colonies in "Increase of Mankind."

The pamphlet's authorship was the subject of centuries-long debate: contemporary readers credited it to Franklin, nineteenth-century scholars attributed it to Richard Jackson, and ultimately twentieth-century scholars determined that it was likely a collaboration led by Franklin. The present volume reflects this intrigue, as a contemporary hand has added "By Dr. Franklin" to the title page.

REFERENCES

ESTC W17002; Evans 8600; Hildeburn 1678; Ford 268; Howes J26; Sabin 35450

PROVENANCE

Gift inscription on last text leaf verso, "Presented to John McAllister by his friend John F. Watson Esq" dated 18 June 1860 (Both McAllister and Watson were early antiquaries, both important in preserving Philadelphia history. Lot 132 contains McAllister's manuscript notes) — George Clinton Fairchild Williams (bookplate)