Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana. Part 2

[Crowley, Aleister] White Stains. The Literary Remains of George Archibald Bishop. A Neuropath of the Second Empire. [Amsterdam for London: Leonard Smithers,] 1898 4to (220 x 175 mm). Uncut and partially unopened. Signed "Crowley" in pencil to front endpaper, half title; one or two pencil marks, some browning to prelims. Original black boards, with title in upper corner, smooth spine with female gender symbol; boards with some bubbling and light wear with few stains and scratches, corners bumped, head and foot of spine bumped and worn, joint slightly cracked, dust soiling to top edges. First edition of one of Crowley's rarest books, and an unnumbered copy out of a print run of just 100. Published under the pseudonym "George Archibald Bishop," White Stains is a lyrical exploration of every conceivable sexual taboo, many copies of which were destroyed by British Customs in 1924. A characteristically Crowleian celebration of obscenity.

View 1 of Lot 401: [Crowley, Aleister] | A rare and characteristically Crowleian celebration of obscenity

[crowley, aleister] | a rare and characteristically crowleian celebration of obscenity

Whisky & Whiskey | Single Cask Summer

Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Bourbon #9078 "Papal Seal" 11 Year Old 106.2 Proof NV

Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Bourbon #9078 "Papal Seal" 11 Year Old 106.2 Proof NV Bottle #26 of 158, 2025 release, rear of bottle features the Papal Seal of Pope Leo XIV This wheated Willett was bottled for the Diocese of Lexington KY, displaying Pope Leo's Papal Seal. Bottle #1 was the only bottle from this barrel signed by Pope Leo in late May of 2026, presented by Father Jim Sichko and Drew Kulsveen. This 2025 release was selected by Father Jim Sichko and Drew Kulsveen, Willett Master Distiller, alongside: The Most Reverend John Stowe, O.F.M. Conv. - The Diocese of LexingtonTim Mapes - Senior Vice President and CCO, Delta Air LinesTim Di Carlo - Former President & CEO, The DiCarlo GroupZev Glesta - Assistant Vice President, Whiskey Specialist, Sotheby'sPablo Moix - Co-founder, Rare Character WhiskeyJoel Wilbur - Founder, Life of Luxe In 2024, Father Jim Sichko partnered with Sotheby’s New York to auction two limited-release Willett bottles that had been signed by Pope Francis. A third rare bottle of Willett signed by former professional football quarterback Tom Brady was also auctioned. 1 bottle 75cl (no original packaging) Please refer to images for levels and conditions ﻿All Lots are offered for sale in the condition they are in at the time of sale and sold “AS IS” in accordance with the Conditions of Business for Buyers. Prospective buyers should inspect each Lot to satisfy themselves as to condition. The images provided here are provided to assist you with assessing the condition of each Lot and are for guidance only; they should not be considered a replacement for inspecting the Lot in person. Spirits and liquor can be picked up by the buyer or the buyer’s agent at our New York premises, or shipped to the District of Columbia, New Hampshire, and New York through specialized carriers. Please note that applicable taxes and fees will be added to the purchase price on the invoice. ﻿For all other locations, Sotheby’s Wine is happy to walk you through available shipping options and, when needed, introduce you to carriers who may be able to deliver to your final destination, be it domestic or international. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at Winepostsaleservices.ny@sothebys.com. Please note that for Wine and Spirits Lots, the Buyer’s Premium rate is 24% of the Hammer Price and the Overhead Premium rate is 1% of the Hammer Price. The Buyer’s Premium and Overhead Premium are subject to any applicable VAT/GST and/or sales or use tax. Please refer to the Conditions of Business for further details.

View 1 of Lot 523: Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Bourbon #9078 "Papal Seal" 11 Year Old 106.2 Proof NV (1 Bottle 75cl)

willett family estate single barrel bourbon #9078 "papal seal" 11 year old 106.2 proof nv (1 bottle 75cl)

The Jay T. Snider Collection of Benjamin Franklin

Joseph Galloway Advertisement. Philadelphia, December 20, 1765. To the Publick. Whereas a Report has been propagated, That at a Meeting of the Gentlemen of the Bar of this City, I gave Opposition to the Opening of the Offices of Justice, and that such Opposition is the Cause of publick Business not being transacted in the usual Manner, without Stampt Paper. I have repeatedly, and in various Companies, denied the Truth of this Report, and fully explained my Conduct at this Meeting, in Hopes thereby to put a Stop to the further Progress of this Calumny, but in vain. I am therefore obliged, in Vindication of my Character, to undeceive the Publick, by the following Explanation. … Joseph Galloway. [Philadelphia: B. Franklin and D. Hall, 1765] Letterpress broadside (387 x 245 mm) on a half-sheet of laid paper (unwatermarked). Some wear and repair at left margin, remnants of two hinges on verso. In the midst of the Stamp Act crisis, Galloway—an able lawyer, wealthy merchant, and member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly—vigorously refutes the “calumny” circulating that he opposed the transaction of judicial business except on “stampt paper.” The Stamp Act, which took effect 1 November 1765, sought new revenues from the North American colonies by taxing newspapers and legal documents. Galloway was sympathetic to the colonists' protests against Parliamentary taxation, but he was also disdainful and then angered by the radical element, believing that the difficulties were basically constitutional. He attempts in this broadside to prudently walk that narrow line between loyalty to the King and desire for independence. He writes that when the special meeting of the Philadelphia bar was opened, a proposal was made “that the Attornies should proceed in the Duties of their Profession, in the usual Manner, without Stampt Paper. Against this there was no absolute Objection made by any, save one, who said he thought it would be imprudent in the Officers of this Province to take the Lead, and that he had rather see the Officers of the other Governments first begin the Measure. A provisional Objection I made myself. I repeatedly declared, that I would proceed in my Office as usual, provided it was previously settled, and known, that the Judges would suffer the Proceedings and Practice of the Law to be carried on in the Courts, without Stampt Paper. But that unless this was done, I did not think it would be prudent in any Person to incur the Penalties of the Statute, nor hazard the Safety of his Person and Property, while those very Men, who must superintend the Recovery and Execution of the Penalties, were to remain free from any Risque, though equally interested in the Measure, and equally bound to join in it.” Galloway urges a conservative approach to the matter, in keeping with his general political principles: “It indeed appears to me a difficult Matter to reconcile the Warmth with which these Gentlemen urge the Opening the Publick Offices, with their steady and constant Opposition to the proposed Meeting of the Judges. If they are as desirous as they pretend to be, that publick Justice should be administered in the common Mode, and that cannot be done to Purpose, without the Assent of the Judges, why are they so averse to the obtaining that Assent?” In concluding, Galloway passionately defends his own honor and principles, as well as his position on the Stamp Act. “But what renders this Report still more ungenerous and dishonourable is, a Proposol that was made by one of the Gentlemen, and, as I thought, agreed to by all, for none objected to it. It was this, That as it would not be proper to mention the Sentiments of any particular Person, it would be prudent to inform the People, who should enquire after the Result of the Meeting, that there were various Opinions among us, and therefore nothing conclusive was agreed on. To which I answered, That I had delivered my Opinion on the Subject with Candour, and as it was founded on cool Reflection, it would give me no Concern should it be published from the Court-House Steps, and in every Street in the City, and yet I should chearfully comply with the Proposal, since it had been made. After this, I was not a little surprized, to find my Conduct so basely misrepresented, and that great Pains had been taken to throw the Odium, arising from the not opening the Publick Offices, on Mr. [George] Ross and myself, who were of the fame Opinion. I have taken some Pains to discover the Authors, but without Succes, I shall therefore leave them to reconcile their Conduct, in this Respect, if they can, to the Principles of Honour and Truth, if they cannot, to the Checks of their own Consciences.” George Ross served with Galloway in the Pennsylvania legislature and the Continental Congress. Initially a Tory and crown prosecutor, his allegiance to the colonial assemblies grew as they rebelled against perceived Parliamentary overreach like the Stamp Act. Galloway was able for a time to swing public sentiment to his side, and he was elected speaker of the Pennsylvania House from 1766 to 1774, the latter being the year he led the Pennsylvania delegation in the First Continental Congress, where he proposed a union—which received little support—between the thirteen colonies and Great Britain. By 1776 his loyalties had turned British and he fled, first to the countryside and then to England, where he was a spokesman for the American Loyalists and continued to work for accommodation. The 1783 peace treaty was to leave him disliked on both sides of the Atlantic. Issued without imprint, Miller ascribed the present broadside to the Franklin and Hall press because of an entry in their 1765 Workbook: “Joseph Galloway, Esq., For printing 400 Copies of his Vindication relating to opening the Publick Offices, £1.5.0.” Despite this print run, Galloway’s advertisement-answer “To the Publick” is exceptionally rare. Only a single copy is recorded in Rare Book Hub, a duplicate from either the Library Company of Pennsylvania or the Historical Society of Pennsylvania sold at Parke-Bernet Galleries, 20 January 1970, lot 7 (the sale was titled “The American Revolution: Books & Pamphlets, Broadsides, Maps, Newspapers from the Collections of the Library Company of Pennsylvania and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania,” but individual lots were not specifically designated). These two Philadelphia institutions account for two of the three copies located by ESTC, the other being held by the American Antiquarian Society. REFERENCES Miller 838; ESTC W1354; Evans 9977; Hildeburn 2127; Campbell 714

View 1 of Lot 99: Joseph Galloway | "in Vindication of my Character"

joseph galloway | "in vindication of my character"

Treasures of a Flourishing Age: The Songde Tang Collection of Ming Porcelain

well potted with a gently bulging centre tapering to the mouth-rim, all supported on a countersunk base, the exterior decorated with four evenly spaced quatrefoil cartouches, each enclosing one character of the phrase 'pingan jixiang' ('auspiciousness and peace'), against a diaper-ground band and between two classic scroll bands, the base with a six-character reign mark within a double circle, wood stand and Japanese wood box

well potted with a gently bulging centre tapering to the mouth-rim, all supported on a countersunk base, the exterior decorated with four evenly spaced quatrefoil cartouches, each enclosing one character of the phrase 'pingan jixiang' ('auspiciousness and peace'), against a diaper-ground band and between two classic scroll bands, the base with a six-character reign mark within a double circle, wood stand and Japanese wood box d. 9.5 cm

View 1 of Lot 816: A rare underglaze-blue and yellow-enamelled inscribed water coupe, Mark and period of Jiajing | 明嘉靖　青花黃彩「吉祥平安」水丞　《大明嘉靖年製》款

a rare underglaze-blue and yellow-enamelled inscribed water coupe, mark and period of jiajing | 明嘉靖　青花黃彩「吉祥平安」水丞　《大明嘉靖年製》款

William Franklin The Answer of his Excellency William Franklin, Esq; Governor of His Majesty's Province of New-Jersey, to the invidious Charges of the Proprietary Party, contained in a Libel, read by Mr. James Biddle, Clerk of the Common Pleas for the County of Philadelphia, on Saturday last, and afterwards published and industriously dispersed through the Province. [Philadelphia: Printed by B. Franklin and D. Hall, 1765] Letterpress broadside (317 x 206 mm) on a half-sheet of laid paper (watermark indistinct); lightly browned and foxed. Writing here as governor of New Jersey, William Franklin refutes the allegations made by James Biddle that Benjamin Franklin had helped to plan and promote the Stamp Act and that William had prevented the New Jersey assembly in joining the general colonial protests against it. Biddle’s broadside, titled “To the Freeholders and Electors Of the Province of Pennsylvania,” was printed in Philadelphia by William Bradford (ESTC W1374; Evans 9915). Biddle wrote, “As another annual election is now approaching … You have seen too how the same faction have gratified an ambitious man in frequent embassies to England, under pretence of extinguishing a flame designedly kindled by himself! … Nay, that the stamp-act has been long a favorite scheme of his, is clear from a manuscript written by him about eight years ago.” Here Franklin’s son responds, his answer datelined Burlington, October 1, 1765: “Whereas a Report has, for some Time past, been circulated, That the Governor of this Province received the Letter sent by the Speaker of the General Court of Massachusetts Bay, to the Speaker of the Assembly of New-Jersey, detained it in his Possession till the last Day of the late Meeting at Burlington, and by his Management, prevailed on the Assembly not to accept of the Invitation to send Commissioners to New-York. And whereas a Paper has been printed and published at Philadelphia, positively asserting, ‘That the Governor of New-Jersey has made strong Efforts to subdue the Spirit of Liberty in his Government, and arbitrarily refuses to give his Assembly an Opportunity to join the other Assemblies in decent Remonstrances against the Stamp Law, although Nine Tenths of the People of the Jerseys now vehemently desire it. …’ Now this is to assure the Public, that so far from my having received and detained the above mentioned Letter, I have not even yet seen it. …” Franklin continues, “I should not have thought it necessary to give this publick Refutation of the Falshoods contained in the Report and Paper abovementioned, had they not been propagated and published with a View of taking Advantage of the present Commotions to excite a Difference between me and a People for whom I have a great Regard, and with whom I have lived in uninterrupted Harmony ever since my Arrival in the Government.” Pivoting to the charges made against his father, William is even more zealous in his response: “As to what is contained in the said Paper relative to my Father's being concerned in the planning and promoting the Stamp Act, it is grossly false, and consequently a shameful Imposition on the People. Not a Gentleman of the Proprietary Party, even among those who scruple not to aver the Truth of it in Conversation, can, I am convinced, be found so hardened as to avow in Print, with his Name subscribed, that he believes it to be true, or to undertake to produce any Proofs in its Support.—My Father is absent—but he has left Friends enough on the Spot, who are both capable and willing to clear him of any Aspersions which the Malice of the Proprietary Party can suggest. To those Friends I leave the Defence of his Reputation, if it can need any, being determined to concern myself no farther with the Disputes of Pensylvania than as they relate to my Character, or have Reference to the publick Transactions of this Province.” According to Franklin and Hall’s Workbook, Joseph Galloway paid them £2.5.0 on 3 October 1765 to print one thousand copies of William Franklin’s broadside Answer. Today, though, only perhaps four copies survive: ESTC records copies only at the Library Company of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania; and just two copies appear in Rare Book Hub, none for more than fifty years: a copy at a sale conducted by Stan Henkels at Thos. Birch’s Sons, Philadelphia, in 1892, and an apparent Library Company duplicate sold at Parke-Bernet, 20 January 1970, lot 6. The Snider copy is likely the one sold in 1970. REFERENCES Miller 837; ESTC W36526; Evans 9973; Hildeburn 2125; Campbell 713

View 1 of Lot 98: William Franklin | A refutation of a "grossly false" charge against his father

william franklin | a refutation of a "grossly false" charge against his father

Ellis Pugh A Salutation to the Britains, to Call Them from the Many Things to the One Thing Needful, for the Saving of their Souls. … translated from the British language by Rowland Ellis, revis'd and corrected by David Lloyd. Philadelphia: printed by S. Keimer, for W. Davies, Bookbinder, in Chestnut-Street, 1727 8vo (141 x 87 mm). Contemporary manuscript table of contents to front flyleaf, ownership inscriptions to page [xvi] and the rear flyleaf, manuscript corrections in text; the occasional pale spot, small loss at lower corner of leaf F8, trimmed close, just touching the top of the manuscript table of contents and a few of the brackets surrounding the page numbers. Twentieth-century pebbled brown calfskin, gilt spine, boards, board edges, and turn-ins gilt, top edge gilt, green silk ribbon; minor staining to boards, joints lightly rubbed. A rare Keimer imprint, dating from when Franklin ran his printing-house, with distinguished contemporary Quaker provenance. On 6 October 1723, a seventeen-year-old runaway indentured servant from Boston, Benjamin Franklin, arrived in Philadelphia for the first time. He first applied for a job with the well-established printer Andrew Bradford, but Bradford already had a journeyman and suggested that Franklin try to find work with another printer named Samuel Keimer. Keimer had rented a house, at present-day 318 Market Street, from John Read (whose daughter, Deborah, would later become Franklin's wife). According to Franklin, Keimer "ask'd me a few questions, put a composing stick in my hand to see how I work'd, and then said he would employ me soon, tho' he just then had nothing for me to do" (The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Lemay and Zall, p. 26). Keimer's shop consisted of a broken-down printing press and a worn-out font of type. Franklin, decidedly unimpressed, did his best with his first job composing for Keimer — the broadside "Elegy on... Aquila Rose" (1723). In 1724, Franklin left his shop and sailed for London, where he stayed for two years. Once back in Philadelphia, Franklin tried to find work as a clerk or a salesman. Failing at that, he reluctantly returned to work for Keimer in the spring of 1727. As Franklin writes about him in his autobiography, he "had heard a bad character of him [Keimer] in London... and was not fond of having anything to do with him" (Autobiography, p. 53). In fact, Keimer was not only an unskilled printer who knew "nothing of presswork," he had spent time in a debtor's prison before arriving in Philadelphia, and had tried to pass himself off as a Quaker until the Society of Friends exposed him. However, Keimer promised to let Franklin be in charge of the printing-house and its five employees, and agreed to pay him better wages. Franklin accepted the proposal. He worked hard, not only on composition and presswork, but also training the employees and casting additional type to restore Keimer's worn and depleted font. After a quarrel on 2 October 1727, Keimer gave Franklin his notice. Franklin, furious, "told him his wish was unnecessary for I would leave him that instant; and so taking my hat walk'd out the doors" (Autobiography, pp. 55–56). Soon after, Franklin started his own printing-house in partnership with Hugh Meredith, one of Keimer's workmen, with funds from Meredith's father. This Quaker religious tract, translated from Welsh, was printed at Keimer's shop during the period that Franklin ran the printing house. As such, Franklin likely had a hand in its production, perhaps as the text's compositor. This copy is inscribed, "Lydia Lancaster, her Book, given by her friend David Lloyd Judge of Pencilvainia." There are several manuscript corrections in the text, likely in the hand of Chief Justice Lloyd, William Penn's colonial secretary, who revised the text. Lydia Lancaster was one of the foremost English Quaker women of her day, and, unusually for the period, a Quaker minister. REFERENCES ESTC W22069; Lemay, J. A. Leo. The Life of Benjamin Franklin, Vol. I. (Philadelphia: UPenn, 2006), pp. 215-258 and 318-331 PROVENANCE Lydia Lancaster (gift of Chief Justice David Lloyd, with inscription on rear flyleaf) — Mr. George Brinley (Sold Leavitt and Co., "Catalog of the American Library of the Late … Part II," 22 March, 1880)

View 1 of Lot 2: Ellis Pugh | Printed while Franklin was working in Keimer's printing-house

ellis pugh | printed while franklin was working in keimer's printing-house

William Franklin Autograph letter signed (“Wm: Franklin”) to Philip Skene (“Dear Sir"), one page (237 x 180 mm) on a bifolium of laid paper (watermarked fleur de lys surmounting LVG), Middletown, 19 January 1777, complaining of his imprisonment by order of the Continental Congress, integral leaf with autograph address panel (“Governor Skene | New York”) and reception docket (“19th Jany 1777 | Govr Franklin | to |Govr Skene | recd 25 Jany per Barr”; lightly browned, seal tear and repair, a few short fold separations, chiefly marginal. Half green morocco folding-case gilt, chemise. A very rare Revolutionary War-period letter by William Franklin, last royal governor of New Jersey, Loyalist leader—and acknowledged extramarital son of Benjamin Franklin. This letter is noteworthy not only for its date, but for its significant content, revealing the particular Patriot animus directed against Franklin, who had been denounced by the Provincial Congress of New Jersey as “an enemy to the liberties of this country.” Franklin remained in his gubernatorial chair long after most colonial governors had fled their posts, staunchly following the directions of the Crown and forwarding intelligence about revolutionary activities to London. Initially placed under house arrest, in June 1776, Franklin was imprisoned for two years at various places in Connecticut, including eight months in solitary confinement in Litchfield, before being exchanged, 1 November 1778. Franklin’s correspondent, “Governor” Philip Skene was a British army officer and recipient of a royal patent for a large tract of land at the southern end of Lake Champlain that was known as Skenesborough, which became an important trade center. Skene was given the honorific title “governor” with the idea that he would be appointed royal governor of a new colony to be made from the area of New York surrounding Skenesborough combined with the disputed New Hampshire Grants. Captured in Philadelphia in June 1775, Skene was paroled to the West Hartford home of Sarah Hooker. Skene was exchanged in September 1776 and sailed to England, but word of General John Burgoyne’s planned campaign in Canada and northern New York convinced him to return to North America in early 1777 to offer his assistance. He was in British-occupied New York City when Franklin’s letter reached him. “I have had the Pleasure to find by your Note to Mrs. Sarah Hooker, and otherwise, that you are so kind as to remember me, and have not been inattentive to my present disagreeable Situation. I should probably ere now have made some Attempt to remove myself from it, had it not been for the repeated Assurances I have received from my Friends, that Measures are taking by Gen. Howe to effect my Releasement, and that I may be assured of my being soon enabled to return to my Family.—The Powers who govern here have given every one of my Fellow-Prisoners who were not exchanged, Liberty to return to their respective Homes on their Paroles. But they have peremptorily refused me that Liberty without an Order from the Congress, because, as Govnr. [Jonathan] Trumbull says in his Letter to me, ‘he knows my Influence in New Jersey, and my Interest and Disposition in the present unhappy Dispute too well to consent to my Return there.’ I am in hopes, however, it will not be long before I shall be out of his Power, and have an Opportunity of making my Acknowledgments in Person for your kind Attention to my Affairs.—I am, very sincerely, Dear Sir, Your affect[iona]te. Hum[ble]. Serv[an]t.” Despite the optimism he expresses here, Franklin was not exchanged for almost another two years, 1 November 1778. Taking refuge in New York City, Franklin became a leader of Loyalist resistance to the revolution, both politically and militarily. “He left America in August 1782 … the most notorious Loyalist after Benedict Arnold,” although an “1802 article in Public Characters, a London magazine described him as a ‘martyr to his principles and an honor to the country’” (Willard Sterne Randall in American National Biography). For his part, Philip Skene became part of the Convention Army after Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga and returned to Britain in 1778. The following year he was attained by New York State and his extensive lands and other properties were confiscated. While documents, and even a few letters, signed by William Franklin from his tenure as governor of New Jersey are relatively common, Rare Book Hub cites no autograph letters signed from the period of the Revolutionary War for more than six decades—and only four over the course of the past century: to his half-sister, Sarah Franklin Bache, 16 August 1782 (Parke-Bernet, 23 October 1962, lot 75); to his son, William Temple Franklin, 6 October 1776 (Parke-Bernet, 28 January 1946, lot 58); to Gold Selleck Silliman, general in the Connecticut militia, 9 March 1780 (American Art Association-Anderson, 3 April 1936, lot 156); and to William Strahan, 9 October 1779 (Henkels, 17 January 1924, lot 206).

View 1 of Lot 116: William Franklin | Benjamin Franklin's Loyalist son laments his "present disagreeable Situation" in a Patriot prison

william franklin | benjamin franklin's loyalist son laments his "present disagreeable situation" in a patriot prison

(Benjamin Franklin — David Hall) The Pennsylvania Gazette. Containing the Freshest Advices, Foreign and Domestick. Philadelphia: Printed by B. Franklin, Post-Master, and D. Hall, 6 January 1757–1 December, 1757 46 weekly issues, numbers 1463–1510, without numbers 1488 and 1489, folio (381 x 248 mm). Each issue a bifolium of 4 pages, printed in three columns, with a woodcut armorial at the head of the first page, and occasional small woodcut illustrations in the text, number 1492 with an early ownership signature; Light toning, a few spots, generally quite minor excepting number 1497, some chipping and wear to corners and edges, trimmed close at the top edge, occasionally shaving a letter or a headline, infrequent tears and one loss at a corner, two holes near the gutter from a previous binding throughout, issue number 1510, the last in the series, with chipping and tears along edges, with losses to the printing on the second leaf at the lower corner and the top edge, and with a paper repair along the fold. Disbound; with remnants of a previous binding at spine, and much of the sewing intact. Half red morocco slipcase, chemise. A rare and extensive run of 46 weekly issues of Benjamin Franklin's newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, covering nearly all of 1757 and encapsulating a year's worth of vital news for North America and especially Philadelphia. These newspapers are also an important source for information on The French and Indian War, which raged across North America from 1755 to 1763. In October 1729, Benjamin Franklin, already established as both printer and journalist, assumed control of an existing paper and shortened its name to The Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin then changed both the paper's design and its content, and under his direction the Gazette became arguably the finest newspaper in the colonies, with the largest circulation, the most pages, the highest advertising revenue, and the liveliest editorial columns. Walter Isaacson, in his popular biography, characterizes Franklin the newspaper editor and journalist as one who was "charmed and amused by the world and delight[ed] in charming and amusing others... skeptical of both orthodoxies and heresies... earnest in [his] desire to seek truth and promote public betterment." As such, "Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette was filled not only with short news items and reports on public events, but also with amusing essays and letters from readers. What made his paper a delight was its wealth of this type of correspondence, much of it written under pseudonyms by Franklin himself" (Isaacson, p. 65). In 1748, Franklin took on David Hall as partner and stepped away from active printing. By 1757, the period covered in the present run, Franklin would not have been involved in the daily activities of the paper — he was engaged as Pennsylvania's Colonial Agent that year, and departed for England on 20 June. That said, Franklin continued to publish and occasionally write for the paper until 1765, when he sold his share of the printing business to Hall, a deal that was finalized on 1 February 1766. The Gazette itself continued to be published until 1815. These 1757 issues of The Pennsylvania Gazette are an especially important record for the French and Indian War, providing, for example, accounts of the French defeat of General Braddock in western Pennsylvania in July 1755, and the English rout of the French at Lake George later that September. There is also information about a variety of world events, including the concurrent Seven Years' War in Europe, and various proclamations and acts from King George and the English Parliament. The Gazette includes a variety of news from various colonial centers, including New York, Boston, Kingston, and Williamsburg. There is also information about colonists' interactions with Native Americans, including accounts of whites taken into captivity, and the texts of agreements between Pennsylvania and the Six Nations. The newspaper is also filled with information on Philadelphia, giving accounts of the votes and proceedings of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and serving as a veritable "who's who" for the city. Additionally, the advertising matter in the Gazette offers a fascinating record of colonial life in the city of Philadelphia, reporting on escaped enslaved persons and runaway servants, ship embarkations and arrivals, auctions, lottery schemes, real estate sales, legal notices, new publications by booksellers, and scores of artisans and professionals offering their services, including cabinet makers, silversmiths, grocers, textile merchants, and more. Some other notable inclusions in the advertisements are Lewis Evans's death and the auction of his maps, Franklin's selling of his own "Very Good Lampblack" at his printing office, information on Franklin's fire insurance company The Philadelphia Contributionship, and notices for books printed on Franklin's own press, such as The Trial of the late Admiral Byng. This run of 46 issues is among the three largest groups of Franklin imprint Pennsylvania Gazettes to have appeared at auction in the last century, per RareBookHub. REFERENCES Miller 662; Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003

View 1 of Lot 74: Benjamin Franklin — David Hall | A nearly complete 1757 run of "The Pennsylvania Gazette," Franklin and Hall's Philadelphia newspaper 

Results for "rare character"