A French <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/collectibles/vintage-poster/film" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">movie poster</a> for the film <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=The+Time+Machine&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Time Machine</a>.<ul><li>Roger Soubie (French, 1898-1984).</li><li>Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.</li><li>Linen backed.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul> First-year-of-release French Grande film poster for 60s classic sci-fi The Time Machine. Based on the classic sci-fi novel by H.G. Wells, scientist and inventor, Alexander Hartdegen, is determined to prove that time travel is possible. Soubie is known for both his great early travel posters created for destinations in France and his outstanding images he created for movie posters.

French The Time Machine Movie Poster

Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone

H.G. Wells Two volumes: (i) The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance. London: C. Arthur Pearson Limited, 1897. 8vo (183 x 121 mm), FIRST EDITION, title-page printed in red and black, 2pp. publisher's advertisements at rear, original red cloth lettered in gilt on spine and on upper cover with design in black, clear dust-jacket, blue inkstains to pp. 26–27, endleaves lightly browned, hinges split, top edge browned, extremities slightly rubbed and bumped (ii) The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance. London: C. Arthur Pearson Limited, 1897. 8vo (183 x 121 mm), FIRST EDITION, title-page printed in red and black, 2pp. of publisher's advertisements at rear, original red cloth lettered in gilt on spine and on upper cover with design in black, endleaves renewed, minor staining to upper cover, spine sunned and soiled, extremities slightly rubbed and bumped The Invisible Man, the tale of a scientist who turns himself invisible but is unable to reverse the process, was first printed serially in Pearson's Magazine in June and July 1897. Written shortly after the successful publication of The Time Machine, the story has been adapted numerous times for film and television. "Boldly melodramatic and intellectually provocative, Wells's early scientific romances... remain unsurpassed for their imagination and visionary power" (ODNB). LITERATURE: Wells 11

View 1 of Lot 147: H.G. Wells | The Invisible Man, 1897, first edition, 2 copies

h.g. wells | the invisible man, 1897, first edition, 2 copies

Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana. Part 2

Lincoln, Mary Todd Autograph letter signed ("Mrs. Lincoln") as first lady, [Washington, D.C., 2 December 1861], to Ruth Harris ("Mad[ame] Harris"), 2 pages written on the rectos only of two leaves of blue-ruled machine-laid paper; remnants of hinges on versos and faint edge discoloration, evidently from earlier framing. "Mary Lincoln's interest in clothes as well as her penny-pinching proclivities are … evident in the letters she wrote her favorite milliner in New York, 'Madame' Ruth Harris. The most elaborate headdress, made to precise specifications, must be ready in no time and must not cost more than $5.00. The letters to Madame Harris crop up all through Mrs. Lincoln's years in Washington. They provide fascinating insight into her skill as a designer, her meticulous attention to changing styles, her awareness of her own best features, and her sureness of taste" (Turner & Turner, p. 113). Mrs. Lincoln may have written frequently to Ruth Harris, but those letters are extremely rare in the market. Justin G. Turner and Linda Levitt Turner's Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters (New York, 1972) print eight letters and telegraphs from Mary Todd Lincoln to Ruth Harris in addition to the letter offered here; seven of these are in institutional collections and the other is unlocated. The present missive is apparently one of two ever to appear at auction; the other was unknown to Turner & Turner and is now in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The only other item tangentially related to the two women cited in Rare Book Hub is an envelope (without letter) addressed to "Madame Harris & Son, 729 Broadway, New York," 7 April of an indeterminate year, that was franked by President Lincoln. This letter, then, is evidently the only known Mary Lincoln fashion-design commission in private hands. The First Lady evidently wrote to Harris on 1 December 1861, requesting the hatmaker to "make up a purple silk velvet headdress." From the date of that letter (now in the Huntington Library), the date of the present letter can be determined to be 2 December 1861: "I wrote to you on yesterday. I will also get you to make a real black velvet head dress twisted as you did the crimson, the true real velvet bow & strings behind of your richest velvet—also a bow on the top. A bow also on the purple with a loop—in case I take off the flowers. Remember a bow & loop in front on each. To be made in your handsomest style. In front & behind a handsome bunch of black berries—with those peculiar leaves—your richest berries—without they are of the best & most stylish, I do not want them. Remember under the flowers of each—bows & loops. Please send them by Wednesday or Thursday Express." In a postscript, Mrs. Lincoln reiterates, probably unnecessarily, "All of the richest velvet." The Turners misdated the letter regarding a "purple silk headdress" as 21 November, because Mary Lincoln misdated the original manuscript as 31 November—a date that does not exist. She apparently got confused and neglected to advance the month. Correctly dating the present letter to 2 December also helps explain its urgent tone: Mrs. Lincoln may well have wanted the new black velvet hat for a levee at the White House on 17 December, which the Washington Star described as "the opening public reception of the season." Ruth Harris was born in Poland, probably around 1808. She gave birth to a son, Morris, when she was just fifteen. Nothing is known about Morris's father, including whether he married Ruth. However, in the 1851 census, as well as in New York City directories of the day, Ruth Harris is described as a widow. She and Morris emigrated about 1841–1842 to London, where they worked as furriers. About a decade later, the Harrises left London for the United States. In New York City, Harris established a French millinery on Broadway called Madame R. Harris & Son. An advertisement in Frank Leslie's Monthly in 1860 claimed that Harris & Son "make a specialité of most exquisite Parisian flowers for garniture and head-dresses. During a late visit to the French capital, Madame Harris made arrangements to become the branch house of the celebrated Duteis, the great artist in flowers to the Empress Eugenie, and whose perfect and natural creations are the passion and delight of the Parisiennes." Harris also advertised regularly in the first English-language Jewish weekly newspaper in the United States, New York's The Asmonean: A Family Journal of Commerce, Politics, Religion, and Literature Devoted to the Interests of the American Israelites. Although Ruth Harris’s connection to Mrs. Lincoln is well documented, her Jewish identity has gone unrecognized in the literature; genealogical research now establishes her and her son's Jewish Identity. Their advertising in The Asmonean places them firmly within New York’s Jewish commercial network. The 1860 U.S. census records Ruth living with Morris, his wife Selina, and their son Reuben; Morris is listed in the millinery and fur trade, aligning with the family business. Ruth remained part of this household during the firm’s operation. Morris married Selina Prince in 1856 in a ceremony officiated by Rabbi Rev. M. R. de Leeuw. Selina was the daughter of Abraham Prince, a silk hat and fur manufacturer of Edinburgh, whose 1822 marriage to Nancy Moses is the earliest recorded Jewish marriage in that city, linking two families in related trades. Jewish communal ties are further documented: Selina’s funeral invited Congregation Shaaray Tefila; Morris’s funeral was conducted by a rabbi of the Hebrew Congregation in Washington, D.C.; and both were buried in Beth Olom Cemetery, New York, with records appearing in JewishGen. During the Civil War, Ruth Harris acted as Mary Todd Lincoln’s New York milliner, maintaining ongoing correspondence. The First Lady was a demanding and precise client, placing repeated orders for bonnets and headwear and frequently requesting adjustments rather than one-time purchases. The letters show her detailed instructions and high expectations; despite criticism and cost concerns, she continued to rely on Harris, who remained professional, responsive, and adaptive. Harris’s role was especially significant after Willie Lincoln’s death in 1862, when she supplied Mary with a formal mourning bonnet and veil, meeting her exacting standards during a period of personal grief. Ruth Harris left the United States before the end of the war, after which the business continued under Morris Harris.

View 1 of Lot 372: Lincoln, Mary Todd | A meticulous order for a hat from her Jewish milliner, Ruth Harris

lincoln, mary todd | a meticulous order for a hat from her jewish milliner, ruth harris

The Jay T. Snider Collection of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin Autograph letter signed (“BFranklin”) to Henry Home, Lord Kames (“Lord Kaims,” at foot of first page), 3 pages (320 x 197 mm) on a disjunct bifolium of laid paper (watermarked Pro Patria with Maid of Dort, countermarked crowned GR), London, 28 February 1768, on the venting of chimneys and the happiness derived from “small Conveniencies or Pleasures that occur every day,” with a six-line autograph postscript; a few tiny pinholes to top horizontal fold of second leaf. Accompanied by a neat clerical “Copy of part of a Letter from Dr. Franklin. To Sir Alexander Dick— London, January. 21. 1762” (superscription at head of first page), 3 ½ pages (302 x 183 mm) on a disjunct bifolium of laid paper (watermarked arms of the United Kingdom, countermarked crowned GR), docketed on final page “Copy Letter from Dr. Franklin about his Chimney Machines. 21 January 1762”; inner margins and some folds skillfully reinforced, final page lightly soiled. And with an address panel directed “To The Rt. Honble. Lord Kames Edinburgh,” with red wax seal largely intact; soiled and repaired. (This address panel perhaps covered the transcription of Franklin’s letter to Dick, since the Papers describes the present letter to Kames as bearing the autograph address and franking signature, “To The Right honble. Lord Kaims, at Edinburgh B Free Franklin”; this was perhaps retained by a member of the Family Trust at the time of the 1995 sale.) Half green morocco folding-case gilt, two chemises. One of Franklin’s first and most famous inventions was the Franklin stove, also called a “circulating stove” or “Pennsylvania fireplace.” Invented by Franklin in 1742, and significantly improved by David Rittenhouse, the Franklin stove was intended to produce more heat and less smoke than an ordinary open fireplace. The notoriety of the invention led Lord Kames to consult Franklin, in a letter of 18 February 1868, about an issue with his new house in Edinburgh: “I begin to perceive in my decline of life that happiness, comfort at least, depends more upon what a Philosopher would call slight conveniences than a young man in the ardour of his studies is apt to imagine. I have bought a house in this Town which luckily is absolutely free of smoke except what is commonly called neighbour smoke; that is the smoke issuing from one vent sometimes goes down a neighbouring vent and issues into the Room when there is no fire in it. I apply to you for a remedy as to an universal Smoke Doctor; and if I had a remedy, mine would be the most compleat house in Edinburgh” (Papers 15:50–51). Franklin here responds fully to his friend, apologizing for his laxity in writing and voicing his concurrence with Kames’s perception of “slight conveniences”: “I have long been of an Opinion similar to that you express, and think Happiness consists more in small Conveniencies or Pleasures that occur every day, than in great Pieces of good Fortune that happen but seldom to a Man in the Course of his Life. Thus I reckon it among my Felicities that I can set my own Razor and shave my self perfectly well, in which I have a daily Pleasure, and avoid the Uneasiness one is otherwise oblig’d sometimes to suffer from dull Razors, and the dirty Fingers or bad Breath of a slovenly Barber.” But Kames had consulted Franklin on a practical, not philosophical, matter, and the greater part of Franklin’s answer is devoted to a meticulously detailed commentary on the issue of “neighbor smoke,” its cause and its remedy. “I congratulate you on the Purchase of a new House so much to your Mind, and wish that you may long inhabit it with Comfort. The Inconvenience you mention of Neighbour Smoke coming down the Vents, is not owing to any bad Construction of the Vent down which it comes, and therefore not to be remedied by any Change of Form. It is merely the Effect of a Law of Nature, whereby whenever the outward Air is warmer than the Walls of the Vent, the Air included being by those Walls made colder, and of course denser and heavier, than an equal Column of the outward Air, descends into the Room, and in descending draws other Air into the Vent from above to supply its Place; which being in its Turn cooled and condensed by the cooler Walls of the Vent, descends also, and so a Current downwards is continued during the Continuance of such Difference in Temperament between the outward Air and the Walls of the Vent. When this Difference is destroy’d, by the outward Air growing cooler and the Walls growing warmer, the Current downward ceases; and when the outward Air becomes still colder than the Walls, the Current changes and moves from below upwards, the warmer Walls rarifying the Air they include, and thereby making it so much lighter than a Column of the outward Air of equal Height, that it is oblig’d to give way to the other’s superior Weight, and rise; is succeeded by colder Air, which, being warmed and rarified in its turn, rises also, and so the upward Current is continued. In Summer when Fires are not made in the Chimneys, the Current generally sets downward from nine or ten in the Morning during all the Heat of the Day till five or six in the Afternoon, then begins to hesitate, and afterwards to set upwards during the Night, continuing till about Nine in the Morning, then hesitating for some time before it again sets downwards for the Day. This is the general Course, with some occasional Variation of the Hours according to the Length of Days or Changes of Weather. Now, when the Air of any Vent is in this descending State, if the Smoke issuing from a neighbouring Vent happens to be carried over it by the Wind, part will be drawn in and brought down into the Room. The proper Remedy then is, to close the Opening of the Chimney in the Room, by a Board so fitted that little or no Air can pass, whereby the Currents above-mentioned will be prevented. This Board to remain during the Summer, and when Fires are not made in the Chimney. Those Chimneys that have Fires in them daily, are not subject to this Inconvenience, the Walls of their Vents being kept too warm to occasion any downward Current during the Hours between the going out of one Fire and the kindling of another. And indeed in Summer, those Vents that happen to go up close joined with the Kitchen Vent, are generally kept so warm by that, as to be free from the downward Current, and therefore free from what you call Neighbour Smoke.” Kames, in his letter, had also asked Franklin if he should adopt “your Philadelphia Grate, as it promises to save Coal, and to diffuse an equal heat through the Room,” but Franklin here advises that, under the circumstances, this is an unnecessary addition: “The Philadelphia Grate which you mention, is a very good Thing, if you could get one that is rightly made, and an ingenious Workman to fix it properly. Those generally made and used here are much hurt by fancied Improvements in their Construction, and I cannot recommend them. As Fuel with you is cheap and plenty, a Saving in that Article is scarce an Object. The Sliding Plates (of which I sent a Model to Sir Alexander Dick) are in my Opinion the most convenient for your purpose, as they keep a Room sufficiently warm, are simple Machines, easily fix’d, and their Management easily conceiv’d and understood by Servants.” Franklin described these sliding plates, based on his “more than 20 Years Experience of my own Contrivances and those of others, for the Warming of Rooms,” in a letter of 21 January 1762 to Sir Alexander Dick (Papers 10:13–16). A contemporary transcription of this letter to Dick accompanies the present missive to Kames, although its origins are uncertain. It is most likely that after receiving Franklin’s answers to his questions about chimneys, Lord Kames applied to his fellow Dunediner for the information. Franklin concludes by promising himself the happiness of accepting Kames’s invitation to be entertained at “one of the finest places [in Scotland] with an inchanting Winter Garden”; Franklin fulfilled this promise in 1771. In a postscript, he describes “a late Paper of mine, written to palliate a little the late offensive Behaviour of the Boston People relating to the use of the Manufactures of this Country.” This was “Causes of the American Discontents before 1768,” which was printed in The London Chronicle, 5–7 January 1768. “Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696–1782), Scottish judge, son of George Home, a country gentleman of Kames, Berwickshire, was indentured at the age of sixteen to an Edinburgh writer to the signet. He studied assiduously in his spare time and was admitted to the Scottish bar at twenty-eight. His published collection of legal decisions four years later brought him to professional attention; he prospered, and was appointed an ordinary lord of Session in 1752, whereupon he assumed the personal, non-hereditary title of Lord Kames. In 1763 he became one of the lords of the Justiciary Court, where he sat until a few days before his death. He had a wide variety of interests including the promotion of fisheries and manufacture and improvement in agriculture. He wrote voluminously on law, antiquities, ethics and natural religion, and criticism. His Introduction to the Art of Thinking (Edinburgh, 1761) and Sketches of the History of Man (1774) included versions of [Franklin’s] 'Parable against Persecution.' As a judge he was severe in criminal cases, but personally he was jovial and vivacious, with a ready, though coarse, humor” (note in Papers, ed. Labaree, 9:5). REFERENCES Papers of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Willcox, 15:60–62 PROVENANCE Deposited in the Scottish Record Office by a Family Trust of Kames’s Descendants — Sold by the Trust (Christie’s London, 29 June 1995, lot 512) — Bonhams New York, 11 June 2008, lot 2384 (undesignated consignor)

View 1 of Lot 103: Benjamin Franklin | The “universal Smoke Doctor”

benjamin franklin | the “universal smoke doctor”

Johann Arndt Des hocherleuchteten Theologi, Herrn Johann Arndts, Weiland General-Superintendenten des Fürstenthums Lüneburg, &c. sämtliche sechs geistreiche Bücher vom wahren Christenthum, das ist: von heilsamer Busse, hertzlicher Reue und Leid über die Sünde, wahrem Glauben, auch heiligem Leben und Wandel der rechten wahren Christen. Philadelphia: Gedruckt und verlegt bey Benjamin Fräncklin und Johann Böhm, 1751 Thick 8vo (182 x 118 mm). Six parts bound as one, printed in Fraktur types, with woodcut and typographic ornaments in the text, and with 64 engraved plates, including two frontispieces, the portrait of Arndt and David and Goliath, the plates at the beginning of each of the six parts, and the 56 emblems; toning, dampstaining, and occasional spotting, textblock trimmed close, touching a scant few headlines and one platemark, tiny losses and wear at the edges and short tears at the head of the frontispieces, tear to leaf 2P2 affecting the printed marginalia, leaves 3X3-6 sprung at the top of the gutter but holding, a tiny tear at the edge of leaf 4U2. Contemporary mottled sheep, blind-ruled, spine with raised bands in six compartments; light rubbing and a few small spots of wear mostly to extremities, superficial craquelure in the spine, joints expertly restored, hinges cracked but the sewing is sound. Half red morocco slipcase, chemise. "One of the great publishing feats of the colonial American German press, and a monument to the short-lived partnership of Franklin and Johann Böhm" (Miller). "The largest book printed in Philadelphia up to this time, and one of the rarest of Franklin Imprints" (Evans). This emblematic devotional text by Johann Arndt was first printed in Frankfurt between 1605 and 1609, and became very popular among German separatist Pietists. The engraved emblems were added by the end of the seventeenth century. Franklin and Böhm's edition is based on the text of the 1727 reprint of the 1696 Leipzig edition, which included additional emblems and explanatory text. Franklin would occasionally employ or partner with German-speaking printers. "Johann Böhm (d. July 1751) printed at least eight pieces with Franklin's German types from 1749 to 1751, using Franklin's name as co-printer" (Lemay, Life II, p. 398). They decided to publish this edition by subscription, priced at 12 shillings, in an edition of 500 copies bound in sheep, as stated in an advertisement that appeared in Saur's German-language newspaper, Pensylvanische Berichte, on 16 May 1749. In the end, they sold 511 subscriptions, mostly to German Reformed and Lutheran congregations throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. The engraved plates following the frontispieces were likely imported from Germany. "Edge marks suggest that the emblems were arranged in blocks of fours on the copper plates; they and the accompanying letterpress were separately machined and carry their own set of signatures: A-G⁸, a practice common in the German printing of large illustrated books, but rare in English colonial publishing" (Miller). Though a few copies of this work have appeared at auction in the past 25 years, this is an exceptional example — it is complete with all the called-for engravings, and is in a contemporary sheep binding, as Franklin and Böhm intended. REFERENCES Miller 520; ESTC W18571; Evans 6630; Hildeburn 1204 PROVENANCE Burton William Pearl (bookplate)

View 1 of Lot 57: Johann Arndt | The largest book printed on Franklin's press, a German-language devotional with engraved emblems

johann arndt | the largest book printed on franklin's press, a german-language devotional with engraved emblems

Washington, George — Moses Seixas "Address of the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode-Island," in the Gazette of the United States, Volume II, No. 45 (Whole No. 149). New York: John Fenno, 15 September 1790 Folio, 4 pages (418 x 253 mm). On a full sheet of laid paper, fine woodcut seal of the United States heading a legislative report, text in three columns; lightly browned, a few stray spots, faint marginal dampstaining, a few small marginal chips, disbound. George Washington's most explicit pronouncement on religious tolerance, and one of the great pillars of American religious liberty. When Rhode Island finally ratified the Constitution on 29 May 1790, George Washington expressed his approbation by visiting Newport with a large entourage that included Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. According to Jonathan D. Sarna: "On August 18 four addresses (written, in keeping with the literary style of the day, in the form of open letters) were read out to the president at a prearranged ceremony; it was customary to greet visiting dignitaries in this way." Sarna continues: "The final and most historically important address came from the 'Hebrew Congregation'—the community’s Jews. The fact that Jews were included at all is noteworthy. They formed a small but significant merchant community in Newport, and had built a beautiful synagogue, Yeshuat Israel, now known as the Touro Synagogue, in 1763." It was Moses Seixas who presented Washington with this "Address of the Hebrew Congregation in Newport," which read: "Deprived as we heretofore have been of the invaluable rights of free citizens, we now (with a deep sense of gratitude to the almighty disposer of all events) behold a government erected by the Majesty of the People—a government, which to bigotry gives no sanction—to persecution no assistance; but generously affording to ALL liberty of conscience, and immunities of citizenship: Deeming every one, of whatever nation, tongue, or language, equal parts of the great governmental machine. ... For all the blessings of civil and religious liberty, which we enjoy under an equal and benign administration, we desire to send up our thanks to the ancient of days." Washington soon responded by affirming his commitment to religious liberty: "The citizens of the United States of America, have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: A policy worthy of imitation. All possess a like liberty of conscience, and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection, should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support. ... May the children of the stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants—while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid." This exchange was first printed in the Boston Herald of Freedom on 7 September 1790. It has since been reprinted countless times. REFERENCES Jonathan D. Sarna, "George Washington's Correspondence with the Jews of Newport," in To Bigotry No Sanction: George Washington and Religious Freedom (Philadelphia: National Museum of American Jewish History, 2012); Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, ed. Mastromarino, 6: 284–286

View 1 of Lot 392: Washington, George — Moses Seixas | "Address of the Hebrew Congregation in Newport"

washington, george — moses seixas | "address of the hebrew congregation in newport"

Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope Principles of Electricity, Containing Divers new Theorems and Experiments, Together With An Analysis Of the Superior Advantages of high and pointed Conductors. This Treatise comprehends an Explanation of an Electrical Returning Stroke, by which, Fatal Effects may be Produced, even at a Vast Distance from the Place where the Lightning Falls. London: Printed for P. Elmsly, in the Strand, M.DCC.LXX.IX (1779) 4to (284 x 214 mm, uncut). Blue paper issue, with early manuscript corrections in ink following the errata list, woodcut tailpiece ornaments in text, and 6 engraved folding plates at rear; light toning mostly affecting the first and last few gatherings, very infrequent pale spotting or staining, a crease to the upper corner of the title-page, gathering a loosening at the top of the gutter, a marginal tear to leaf 2C1 not affecting the text, offsetting in the plates, a rather clean, full-margined copy. Contemporary calf-backed marbled boards; rebacked, preserving much of the original spine, the boards rubbed with wear along edges, hinges reinforced. Half red morocco slipcase, chemise. A deluxe presentation copy of the Principles of Electricity, given to Benjamin Franklin by the book's author, Charles Stanhope, and inscribed on the front free endpaper, “From the Author to B. Franklin, 2nd June 1785.” This outstanding copy, printed on blue paper, with manuscript corrections evidently in the author's hand, remains uncut and in its original boards, much like it was when Franklin received it. Charles Stanhope (1753–1816), a radical Whig politician, an experimental scientist, and an inventor with an interest in printing presses, shared much in common with Franklin. He undoubtedly would have admired Franklin, both for his politics, and for his achievements in science, printing, and writing. The present work mentions Franklin's electrical experiments several times. In fact, a sizeable portion of it, including one of the plates, is dedicated to the debate that Franklin had started over whether sharply pointed lightning rods are more effective at neutralizing electric charges than ones with rounded tips. In this matter, Stanhope supported Franklin's pointed tips against King George III, The Royal Society, and rounded tips. With the Revolutionary War actively raging, the debate had become politicized, so his strong position on the matter was a controversial one. After conducting a series of highly publicized experiments, he felt that he had proved Franklin correct. He published his findings in this work. Later, he thanked Franklin and memorialized their shared victory by giving him this copy of his book. Stanhope also invented two calculating machines, a microscope lens, a steam carriage, and a new variety of more durable cement, as well as a stereotyping machine and the first completely iron hand printing press, which he called the Stanhope press. When this work was published, he still styled himself Charles Viscount Mahon; he would later succeed to the peerage in 1786. In June 1785, when Franklin received this book, he was preparing to leave Passy. In mid-July 1785, he boarded a ship at Havre de Grace and set sail homewards, arriving in Philadelphia that September. The idea for this special presentation copy, however, may have been born a year earlier in the Fall of 1784, when William Temple Franklin met both Charles and his father while in London. William wrote to his grandfather on 12 October, stating, "Lord Stanhope—& his Son Ld. Mahon, (who live at abt. 3 Miles from Mr. Sargents),—rec'd me very politely,—& express’d the greatest Respect for you.— I have a Book for you from Ld. Stanhope—& another for the Society at Philada" (Papers 43:178–180). The book William mentions in his letter was likely the Opera quaedam reliqua (Glasgow, 1776), a posthumous work by the Scottish mathematician Robert Simson that Lord Stanhope had underwritten. REFERENCES ESTC T140651; Wolf and Hayes, Library of Benjamin Franklin 3236 PROVENANCE Benjamin Franklin (presentation inscription from the author) — Laird U. Park Jr. (Sotheby's New York, 29 November 2000, lot 338)

View 1 of Lot 121: Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope | A presentation copy inscribed to Franklin

Results for "The Time Machine"