The Jay T. Snider Collection of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin The Private Life of the late Benjamin Franklin... Originally written by Himself, and now translated from the French. London: Printed for J. Parsons, 1793 8vo (205 x 130 mm). Half-title; infrequent pale spotting, short marginal tear to leaf B2, an uncommonly bright and fresh copy. Near contemporary quarter speckled calf over marbled paper boards, parchment corners, gilt-ruled spine, red leather spine label, edges stained yellow; a thin crack along the front joint, rubbing and wear. The first edition in English of Franklin's memoirs, among the most widely read and influential autobiographies ever written. Originally published in an unauthorized French translation in 1791 (see preceding lot), the book was translated back into English for this London edition. "The portion written by Franklin extends only to the year 1730, and the continuation is based upon Wilmer's 'Memoirs of … Franklin'" (NUC). REFERENCES ESTC T10670; Howes F323; Sabin 25573 PROVENANCE Sir Walter Calverley Trevelyan (English naturalist and geologist, bookplate)

View 1 of Lot 146: Benjamin Franklin | First edition in English of Franklin's memoirs

benjamin franklin | first edition in english of franklin's memoirs

Benjamin Franklin Poor Richard improved: Being an Almanack and Ephemeris of the Motions of the Sun and Moon … For the Year of our Lord 1752 … Fitted to the Latitude of forty degrees, and a Meridian of near five hours west from London; but may, without sensible error, serve all the Northern Colonies. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by B. Franklin and D. Hall, [1751] 12mo (162 x 90 mm). Woodcut borders, anatomical man, and monthly panels; title-page torn and worn with tissue reinforcements, final leaf with primarily marginal restoration, some scattered spotting, staining, and offsetting. Modern speckled calf, covers ruled in gilt, spine with raised bands in six compartments, second with gilt lettering-piece, others with repeat floral motif in gilt. First edition. In the preface Franklin discusses the history of the calendar, a discussion provoked by the Parliament’s alterations thereof. He also includes a “brief chronology” from the birth of Jesus Christ concentrating on the history of Britain and her colonies. REFERENCES Miller 529; ESTC ; Evans 6670; Hildeburn 1239; Drake 9738

View 1 of Lot 56: Benjamin Franklin | Poor Richard ... for the Year 1752

benjamin franklin | poor richard ... for the year 1752

Important Americana

gilt bronze height 24 ¾ in. by width 20 in. by depth 9 in. with the initials FC incised on the works and sterling silver dial Please note that we have a new registration process and we highly recommend registering early to the sale. If you encounter any difficulty, please contact the Bids Department at bids.newyork@sothebys.com or call +1 (212) 606-7414 for assistance.

View 1 of Lot 126: A Very Fine and Rare Classical 'Benjamin Franklin' Shelf Clock, made for the American Market, attributed to Jacques Nicolas Pierre François Dubuc (1743-1817), Paris, circa 1815

a very fine and rare classical 'benjamin franklin' shelf clock, made for the american market, attributed to jacques nicolas pierre françois dubuc (1743-1817), paris, circa 1815

The Passion of American Collectors: Property of Barbara and Ira Lipman | Highly Important Printed and Manuscript Americana 

Ames, Nathaniel An Astronomical Diary or Almanack, for the Year of Our Lord Christ 1771. Boston: Printed by William M'Alpine and Sold by the Printers and Booksellers [1770] 8vo (171 x 101 mm). Browned throughout. Original self-wrappers, evidence of stab holes, front wrapper rubbed and soiled, rear wrapper. Frayed with minor loss not affecting text. Navy cloth chemise and quarter dark blue morocco slipcase First edition, containing on page 4 Franklin’s famous epitaph, “in the Stile of his Occupation,” i.e., comparing himself to a book: “The Body of Benjamin FRANKLIN |Printer, | Like the Covering of an Old Book |Its contents torn out |and stript of its Lettering and Gilding, | Lies Here, Food for Worms; | But the Work shall not be lost, | It will (as he believ’d) appear once more | In a new and more beautiful Edition | Corrected and amended | By the Author. | He was born January 6th 1706 and | died _____17___”. Franklin composed his epitaph in 1728 at the age of 22 and at least three copies of it are known to exist in his hand. “[T]he Ames text apart from the corrupt form ‘Covering’ for ‘Cover’ in the third line, probably derives from … the holograph version owned by Jane (Franklin) Mecom, Franklin’s favorite sibling who lived in Boston” (Butterfield). REFERENCE L. H. Butterfield, “B. Franklin’s Epitaph,” in New Colophon 50:23; Drake, Almanacs 3197; ESTC W22521; Evans 11548

View 1 of Lot 37: Ames, Nathaniel | First printing of Benjamin Franklin's famous epitaph

ames, nathaniel | first printing of benjamin franklin's famous epitaph

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"

Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana

[FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN] [FRANKLIN STOVE] FOSSÉ, [CHARLES LOUIS FRANÇOIS DE]. CHEMINÉE ÉCONOMIQUE, A LAQUELLE ON A ADAPTÉ LA MÉCANIQUE DE M. FRANKLIN. PARIS: JOMBERT AND DESSENE, AND MATHIEU, NANCY, 1786 8vo (8 3/4 x 5 1/2 in.; 222 x 138 mm). 5 folding engraved plates, including extra folding plate from another book about the Franklin Stove; minor and scattered foxing. Original wrappers; some soiling, wear to spine with vertical split. [With:] Franklin, Benjamin. Benjamin Franklin’s Jugendjahre von ihm selbst für seinen Sohn beschrieben und übersetzt von Gottfried August Bürger. Berlin: Heinrich August Rottmann, 1792. 8vo (6 x 3 3/4 in.; 150 x 95 mm). Nathanael Friedrich From’s Herzog Leopold zu Braunschweig, der Menschenfreund, Berlin: 1785 bound in at end. Some scattered foxing and minor toning. Contemporary mottled half calf and marbled boards, gilt lettered red and green morocco labels to spine, patterned endpapers; bottom of front hinge cracked; extremities rubbed. In slipcase with folding chemise. Two scarce works pertaining to Benjamin Franklin Cheminée Économique explains the principles of the Franklin Stove, which Franklin invented in 1742 and improved in the 1770’s. It describes in detail Fossé’s improvements, which he claimed used less wood with less smoke. Jugendjahre is only the second appearance in print of Franklin’s autobiography, following its publication in French the year before, and preceding the first edition in English in 1793. LITERATURE: Echeverria and Wilkie, French Image of America 786/23; Ford 384; Howes F 323; Sabin 15517 PROVENANCE: Jean Hersholt (bookplate to front pastedown of Jugendjahre). Jean Hersholt was a Danish-American actor and book collector. He is celebrated by the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, presented periodically at Academy Awards ceremonies.

2 works by or about franklin: benjamin franklin's jugendjahre, 1792 & cheminée économique, 1786.

Montgomery & Winters A South-East Prospect of the Pennsylvania Hospital, with the Elevation of the Intended Plan. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by Robert Kennedy, 1761 Hand-colored engraving (274 x 367 mm). First state, before the addition of the numbers, signed in the plate "Montgomery & Winters Del." and "J Steeper & H Dawkins sculp.t"; lightly toned, marginal repairs, with one closed crack barely passing the neatline at the left, and one touching the engraved text at lower right corner, expertly rebacked. Framed. The first state of this early view of Pennsylvania Hospital, apparently a unique impression. "This Building by the Bounty of the Government, And of many private Persons, Was Piously founded, for the Relief of the Sick and Miserable." This engraved view shows Pennsylvania Hospital, located at 8th and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, as seen from the southeast. It treated men and woman for both physical and mental illnesses. Of particular note is the garden in the foreground, where invalids are seen taking air and exercise, assisted by groups of well-heeled and charitable Philadelphians. The view was made to stimulate public interest in the Pennsylvania Hospital, and it was sold to raise funds for the institution's continued growth. Co-founded by Dr. Thomas Bond, a Philadelphia physician who first conceived of the institution, and Benjamin Franklin, who helped secure the necessary funding, it was the nation's first chartered hospital. The Pennsylvania Assembly pledged £2,000 for the institution but required that the founders raise a matching amount from private individuals (see lot 60 for a collection of Pennsylvania Hospital Promissory Notes, printed by Franklin). The goal was easily met, and the hospital was chartered in 1751. After a short period in a temporary building, the east wing opened its doors in 1756. Although the full building, as designed by Samuel Rhoads, is depicted here, the central and western wings were not completed until after the Revolution (west wing, 1795-96; central pavilion, 1796-99). As such, the hospital required additional funding to complete the building, which is what this engraving would likely have funded. The charitable nature of the print is made doubly clear by the roundel at the bottom of the image. It includes an illustration of, and a bible passage from, the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:35) — "take care of him & I will repay thee." Pennsylvania Hospital's Pine Building still stands today. It recently opened as a museum in May 2026, the year the hospital celebrated its 275th anniversary. This print was last sold in 1973 at Sotheby's, and evidently no copy of any state of the print has appeared at auction since then, per Rare Book Hub. We are only able to locate a single institutional example, held at the Library Company of Philadelphia. REFERENCES Snyder, City of Philadelphia, 24 (this copy); Roger W. Moss, "Rhoads, Samuel," from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings, a project of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia (https://archive.carpentershall.org/items/show/25803); Julie Wood, "The History of Pennsylvania Hospital's Pine Building," Penn Medicine, May 7, 2026 (https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/the-history-of-pennsylvania-hospital-pine-building?path=News&path=the-history-of-pennsylvania-hospital-pine-building) PROVENANCE Martin Snyder

View 1 of Lot 62: [Pennsylvania Hospital] — Montgomery & Winters | The first state of this early view of the nation's first chartered hospital, likely a unique impression

[pennsylvania hospital] — montgomery & winters | the first state of this early view of the nation's first chartered hospital, likely a unique impression

William Smith An Answer to Mr. Franklin's Remarks on a Late Protest. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by William Bradford, at his Book-Store, in Market-Street, adjoining the London-Coffee-House, M.DCC.LXIV (1764) 8vo (187 x 116 mm). Ornamental headpiece; title's inner margin reinforced, marginal chips, a few checkmarks to margins, ink stains to leaf B2, toned with a few stray stains and foxing throughout, lacking final blank. Modern half red morocco over marbled paper-covered boards, black gilt-lettered spine label, grey endpapers. Housed in a custom red cloth slipcase and folding chemise. First edition—Sabin's state B, with two lines of text below "protestors" on page 3 and the Churchill reference on page 21. One installment in a controversial printed debate between Franklin and his fellow Pennsylvanians. On 1 November 1764, the Pennsylvania Journal published a Protest signed by John Dickinson and nine others against the General Assembly's decision to appoint Franklin as agent of the province in England. Franklin then published a reply, Remarks on a Late Protest, to which the present lot was a response. REFERENCES ESTC W11639; Evans 9841; Hildeburn 1952; Sabin 84586

View 1 of Lot 96: William Smith | An Answer to Mr. Franklin's Remarks on a Late Protest

william smith | an answer to mr. franklin's remarks on a late protest

Charles Woolverton Christ the Eternal Word, the only means of man's salvation. Philadelphia, B. Franklin, 1738 8vo (166 x 100 mm, some leaves uncut, preserving deckle at fore-edge). Typographic ornaments in text; title-page and final leaf lightly soiled, expert restorations to the title and in the margins of the text, one short marginal tear in leaf D2, a vertical split close to the gutter in leaf D3. Full period calf; expertly rebacked, preserving original spine, scuffing and rubbing to boards. A Quaker tract printed by Benjamin Franklin — only two other copies known. The imprint states that Franklin printed this tract "for the author," but Miller located an expense voucher from the Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends of Philadelphia recording a payment to Franklin of £4.10.0 for 300 copies, so it evidently was an officially sanctioned Quaker publication. Not much is known about the author, Charles Woolverton, besides the fact that one of the first books Franklin published was a discourse by him (cf. Miller 12), though no copies of that work are known to survive. Very rare—we locate two copies in institutional collections (University of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore) and, according to Rare Book Hub, none have appeared at auction since 1902. REFERENCES Miller 160; ESTC W17623; Evans, 4327; Sabin 105216

View 1 of Lot 14: Charles Woolverton | A rare Quaker tract printed by Franklin

charles woolverton | a rare quaker tract printed by franklin

Franklin, Benjamin Pennsylvania Abolition Society. A Plan for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks. Philadelphia: Francis Bailey, 26 October 1789 — An Address to the Public, from the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and the Relief of Free Negroes, unlawfully held in Bondage. Philadelphia, [9 November 1789] Two broadsides, A Plan (311 x 196 mm); An Address (311 x 184 mm). Each mounted on mat board and hinged to a framed mat (425 x 292 mm). A few scattered ink spots on A Plan; An Address lightly creased. Both housed in a full crushed crimson morocco folding-case spine lettered gilt. A Plan for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks is a rare publication printed on behalf of the first abolition society in the United States (established by the Philadelphia Quakers in 1775 and of which Franklin was president at the time of publication). Here the Society announces the formation of several committees according to a plan laid out by Franklin to assist freed slaves, including education and employment. In the second broadside, Franklin announces the formation of several committees to assist freed slaves: “To instruct; to advise; to qualify those who have been restored to freedom, for the exercise and enjoyment of civil liberty.” REFERENCE Celebration of My Country 119; Bristol B7029; Shipton & Mooney 45559; ESTC W4578

View 1 of Lot 179: Franklin, Benjamin | The First Abolition Society, directed by Franklin

franklin, benjamin | the first abolition society, directed by franklin

[John Wallis] Untitled map of the United States, one of the earliest cartographical depictions of the new nation created by the Treaty of Paris. The large surrounding cartouche with figures of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. [London: John Wallis, March 1783] Engraved map (sheet: 217 x 290 mm; platemark: 178 x 208 mm). Unrecorded proof state, hand-colored; minor soiling and staining, a few very short edge tears; two corners creased. An unrecorded proof state of this highly decorative map published at the end of the Revolutionary War, commemorating the Treaty of Paris, and celebrating the newly formed United States of America. After the preliminary treaty of Paris was signed on 20 January, 1783, most mapmakers, like Carrington Bowles, Jean Lattré, and Sayer and Bennett, reworked old copperplates and re-engraved "The United States" into their cartouches. This map, on the other hand, is an entirely original engraving, officially published on 18 March 1783. The unusual composition gives far more space to the allegorical border than it does to the rather simple, oval map. That said, the map does delineate the basic borders of each state and gives city and place names. It also includes various other details like the location of French Louisiana, the Spanish Floridas, some major rivers and lakes, as well as a note locating the "Country of Mines" in present-day Missouri. The inset map is flanked by two of America's most important founding fathers—General George Washington, who fought and defeated the British, and diplomat Benjamin Franklin, who negotiated the Treaty of Paris and officially ended the Revolutionary War. Both are accompanied by allegorical figures. Washington is shown being led by Liberty, and Franklin is seen being advised by Wisdom and Justice. Above Washington, winged Fame, with a wreath of laurels in one hand, blows her trumpet to announce the new nation. The background near Franklin includes a pine tree and a pineapple, symbols of American resilience, wealth, and promise. While the publication of a map celebrating American independence in 1783 London may seem surprising, there had for decades been a significant group of Whigs among the British governing classes and their pundits who believed in liberalism and constitutionality. As such, Wallis could have expected this map to be commercially viable. There is a second state of the map dated 18 March 1783, and with the imprint of Wallis and the engravers Thomas Jones Woodman and Henry Mutlow. That state of the map is known in a single copy held at the British Museum (number 1865,0610.1143). Another variant of the map is sometimes found on patriotic transferware jugs (including one offered here at Sotheby's, "Fine Books and Manuscripts," 16 July 2021, lot 50). Wallis produced a second commemorative map of the United States, dated 3 April 1783, titled "The United States of America laid down from the best authorities, agreeable to the Peace of 1783" (Library of Congress, call number G3700 1783 .W3). The second revision's large size, greater detail, and wider availability, may help explain the rarity of the present map. Interestingly, the decorative cartouche on the April map matches the untitled map offered here almost identically, but the oval inset contains the map's title and is surmounted by a flag, the Stars and Stripes. This led British Museum catalogers to posit that the map offered here may have been cut from that larger plate. However, given the dates that Wallis engraved on his maps, as well as certain small inconsistencies in the engraved longitude lines and at the lower border, it is far more likely that Wallis inserted this smaller copperplate into the larger one and reworked it. REFERENCES Unrecorded, but other states and variants can be found in: Ashley Baynton-Williams, "Maps of the United States (1778–1800)," Mapforum.com, no. 1, maps 22 and 23; (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1865-0610-1143); (https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/fine-books-and-manuscripts-2/american-revolution-a-rare-transferware-jug; https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3700.ct000080/?r=0.504,0.608,0.254,0.152,0)

View 1 of Lot 125: John Wallis | A map celebrating America's independence featuring Washington and Franklin, an unrecorded proof state

john wallis | a map celebrating america's independence featuring washington and franklin, an unrecorded proof state

Benjamin Franklin INTRODUCTION TO LOTS 82–87 The Snider Collection is especially rich in materials illuminating the long friendship between Benjamin Franklin and Mary (Polly) Stevenson Hewson (1739–1795), daughter of his London landlady, Mrs. Margaret Stevenson, as the following six lots demonstrate. The editors of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin describe Stevenson (later Mrs. Hewson) as “one of the charming, intelligent girls to whom [Franklin] gave the long and affectionate friendship for which he had such a talent. … Polly’s almost filial devotion to him was a major influence in her life. She had acquired an unusually good education and by the time [Franklin] arrived at Craven Street in 1757, she was spending most of her time as companion to an elderly aunt, a Mrs. Tickell, in Wanstead, a village about ten miles from London, apparently with the understanding that the aunt would leave her a comfortable estate. Nothing came of [Franklin’s] hope of having her as a daughter-in-law; in 1770 she married William Hewson, a brilliant young physician and anatomist, who four years later died from an infection incurred while dissecting. Polly devoted the rest of her life to the care and education of her two sons and daughter” (Papers 8: 122–123). In 1784, Polly and her family visited Franklin in Passy, and in 1786, about a decade after Franklin had first suggested it, she and her children moved to Philadelphia; she was with Franklin at his death. Among their voluminous and eclectic correspondence, are eight letters by Franklin (including the present) that were published in later editions of his Experiments and Observations on Electricity. Franklin reflected on their friendship in a 27 January 1783 letter to Polly: “In looking forward,—Twenty-five Years seems a long Period; but in looking back, how short!— Could you imagine that ’tis now full a Quarter of a Century since we were first acquainted!— It was in 1757. During the greatest Part of the Time I lived in the same House with my dear deceased Friend your Mother; of course you and I saw and convers’d with each other much and often. It is to all our Honours, that in all that time we never had among us the smallest Misunderstanding. Our Friendship has been all clear Sunshine, without any the least Cloud in its Hemisphere. Let me conclude by saying to you what I have had too frequent Occasions to say to my other remaining old Friends, the fewer we become, the more let us love one another” (Papers 39:67–68). Autograph letter signed ("BFranklin") to Mary “Polly” Stevenson (“My Dear Friend”), 2 pages (318 x 201 mm) on a bifolium of laid paper (watermarked Pro Patria with Maid of Dort, countermarked crowned GR), London, 22 March 1762, regarding her study of electricity and other subjects, eight-line autograph postscript, integral leaf with autograph address panel (“To | Miss Stevenson | at Mrs. Tickell’s | Wanstead Essex”) on verso; some light staining at top of first page, long separations at head and foot of central vertical fold, a short marginal separation at horizontal fold, seal tear and repair, but red wax seal preserved largely intact. Half maroon morocco folding-case gilt, chemise. Franklin congratulates Stevenson on her reading his Experiments and Observations on Electricity in the French translation of Thomas-François Dalibard, and responds to a question she had posed in a letter to him, 10 March 1762, concerning Leyden jars: “I was about to ask a Question I find you cannot answer—How it happens that the Surface of the Bottle which contains less than it’s natural Quantity of Electric Fire does not immediately replenish itself from the Hand that holds it, unless the Fire which has a Communication with the other Surface is applied to something that will receive it’s superabundant Quantity” (Papers 10:65–66). He here replies, “I must retract the Charge of Idleness in your Studies, when I find you have gone thro’ the doubly difficult Task of reading so big a Book on an abstruse Subject and in a foreign Language. “The Question you were about to ask is a very sensible one.— The Hand that holds the Bottle receives & conducts away the electric Fluid that is driven out of the outside by the repulsive Power of that which is forc’d into the inside of the Bottle. As long as that Power remains in the same Situation, it must prevent the Return of what it had expell’d; tho’ the Hand would readily supply the Quantity if it could be receiv’d.—” These two opening paragraphs appear, virtually verbatim, as Letter LIII in the 1769 (pp. 460–61) and 1774 (pp. 470–71) editions of Experiments and Observations on Electricity, made at Philadelphia in America. The letter then turns to the topic of a new play that Stevenson was keen to see, a comedy in verse by William Whitehead that had premiered the previous month, and Franklin does not miss the opportunity to gently tease her about the title: “Your good Mama bids me tell you, that she has made Enquiry and finds that the School for Lovers will not be acted till the Benefits are over; but when she hears that it is to be acted she will send you timely Notice. I need not add, that your and your Friends Company at Dinner that Day will be a great Pleasure to us all. But methinks ’tis a Pity, that when you are so desirous of studying in that School, it should not be open, and must we be depriv’d of the Happiness of seeing you till it is? Rather than that should be, I would almost venture to undertake reading you a few Lectures on the Subject myself.” Franklin requests that she send Dalibard’s translation of his work (which he terms “the French Letters, on Electricity”) to him “as a Friend is desirous of perusing them.” He closes by sending his “sincere Respects to Mrs. Tickell, Mrs. Rooke, Miss Pitt, etc.,” but adds a postscript that has evidently not previously appeared in print: “P. S. We were greatly alarm’d in the Night between Friday & Saturday by a Fire at the Bottom of the Street that has almost destroy’d two Houses. Our House & Yard were cover’d with falling Coals of Fire but as it rain’d hard nothing catch’d. We mov’d a few of the most valuable Things; but suffer’d no Damage, tho’ we lost——some Rest.” This bit of news, since it concerned her mother’s house, might well have been quite distressing to Stevenson, which is undoubtedly why Franklin added a joke to the conclusion. REFERENCES Papers of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Cohn, 37:144–145 (not locating the original, text [surprisingly accurate, but lacking the postscript entirely] taken from Stan V. Henkels, Catalogue No. 1262) PROVENANCE Stan V. Henkels, Catalogue No. 1262, The Great Autograph Sale, 1 July 1920, lot 31 (undesignated consignor) — Robert L. McNeil Jr., of Philadelphia (acquired by Snider from the McNeil estate through the offices of Joe Rubinfine American Historical Autographs)

View 1 of Lot 82: Benjamin Franklin | A lesson in electricity, later printed in Experiments and Observations

benjamin franklin | a lesson in electricity, later printed in experiments and observations

Benjamin Franklin Mémoires de la vie privée de Benjamin Franklin écrits par lui-même, et adressés à son fils. Paris: Buisson, 1791 8vo (200 x 123 mm). Title-page ornament; occasional chips or paper flaws at leaf edges not affecting text, a few minor spots and lightly toned leaves, a wide-margined copy. Contemporary French tree calf, gilt spine, red leather spine label, all edges stained red, green silk ribbon; restorations at joints, spine ends, and corners, hinges cracked and front joint starting but holding soundly. The first appearance anywhere of the first part of Franklin's renowned memoirs—"the most widely read of all American autobiographies … this book holds the essence of the American way of life” (Grolier). This unauthorized first edition of Franklin's memoirs was translated into French by naturalist Jacques Gibelin from a 1771 manuscript. It covers Franklin's life up to 1731 and is written as a series of letters to his son William, to whom he also offers his thoughts on philosophy, religion, politics, war, and much more. The remaining account of his life is taken from Wilmer's Memoirs of Franklin. Franklin's autobiography was not published in English until two years later (see following lot), followed by the first American edition in 1794. Both were re-translations from this French text. REFERENCES Sabin 25549; Howes F323; Ford 383; Grolier/American 21; Streeter sale 7:4171; Struggle for North America 91

View 1 of Lot 145: Benjamin Franklin. Mémoires de la vie privée de Benjamin Franklin

benjamin franklin. mémoires de la vie privée de benjamin franklin

Washington, George Autograph letter signed (“Go: Washington”) as commander of the Continental Army, 2 pages (241 x 198 mm) on the first leaf of a bifolium of laid paper (watermarked Posthorn | GR), Philadelphia, 28 December 1778, to Benjamin Franklin; faint seal stain, central vertical crease neatly reinforced. Accompanied by the original full-sheet address wrapper (343 x 255 mm; watermarked Dove and Olive Branch | WMT) directed in a clerical hand to “The Honble. | Benjamin Franklin Esqr | Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States | Versailles,” clerical file docket (“General Washingtons”), fragment of red wax seal; worn with loss and repair at fold creases. Please note: the unusual separate address leaf has preserved the letter in remarkably fresh condition. Morocco folding-case gilt, chemises, by Papuchyan H & H Bindery.

View 1 of Lot 514: Washington, George | An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of three of the most consequential figures of the American Revolution: George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin

washington, george | an extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of three of the most consequential figures of the american revolution: george washington, the marquis de lafayette, and benjamin franklin

Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana. Part 1

Property from the Collection of Adrian Van Sinderen

Property from the Collection of Adrian Van Sinderen (Franklin, Benjamin) Plain Truth: or, Serious Considerations on the Present State of the City of Philadelphia, and Province of Pennsylvania. [Philadelphia:] Printed [by Benjamin Franklin] in the Year MDCCXLVII (1747) 8vo in half-sheets (190 x 117 mm). Woodcut vignette on title-page verso, type-ornament headpiece and initial-frame, with terminal blank C4; title-page quite foxed, some scattered lighter foxing throughout. Late nineteenth-century blue morocco over marbled boards, marbled endpapers, red-sprinkled edges; extremities rubbed. Red cloth slipcase, chemise. First edition; very rare: only one copy, in 1930 at Henkels, is recorded in Rare Book Hub since the 1905 Pennypacker auction. Written and printed by Benjamin Franklin in 1747, Plain Truth is one of Franklin’s most significant pre-Revolutionary works. Plain Truth is the first work in which Franklin combined the promotion of a nascent Americanism with criticism of British colonial authorities. Faced on the one hand with a pacifist, Quaker-dominated Pennsylvania Assembly and on the other with French and Spanish privateers on the Delaware River and the increasing confederation of French and Native American forces on the colony’s western border, Franklin’s pseudonymous pamphlet (the title-page attributed it to "a Tradesman of Philadelphia") led to the creation of a Pennsylvania militia of 10,000 men. Many were persuaded of the necessity of an "Association for Defence" by Franklin's argument that "The Way to secure Peace is to be prepared for War." The first edition of Plain Truth, from which the present copy derives, was 1,000 copies, nearly three times as many as a typical political pamphlet or sermon of the time. Franklin gave these copies away, but the demand was so great that two weeks later he printed a second edition of 1,000 further copies. The second edition, significantly more common than the first, can be distinguished because the final leaf, which is blank in the first edition, has printed on it an English translation of the Latin extract from the Roman historian and politician Sallust that appears on the title-page. (Franklin also arranged to have Plain Truth translated and printed in German by Gotthard Armbrüster for the use of the extensive Pennsylvania German community.) Plain Truth is also significant for its use of a woodcut illustration of "Hercules and the Wagoneer," printed on the verso of the title-page, that Franklin had first used earlier in 1747 to illustrate one of Aesop’s Fables in Thomas Dilworth's schoolbook, A New Guide to the English Tongue. In this context, however, J. A. Leo Lemay, the preeminent Franklin scholar and biographer, calls the woodcut—in which Hercules urges the wagoneer to try to move his mud-bound wagon on his own before asking others for help—"the earliest American political cartoon." Copies of the second edition appear on the market periodically, although none have since 2004. However, we have been able to trace only one true first edition of Plain Truth in the auction records since the celebrated Pennypacker sale of 1905—and that single post-Pennypacker copy is itself nearing a century ago. Adrian Van Sinderen recognized the importance and rarity of Plain Truth, including it in Foundation Stones, the survey of highlights from his Americana collection, and describing it as a "spicy exposition." Plain Truth is the first work by Franklin that foreshadows an independent America—and his own passionate involvement with civic affairs. REFERENCE: Miller 416; Evans 5948; ESTC W2472; Campbell 355; Hildeburn 1010; Howes F329; Sabin 25563; Van Sinderen, Foundation Stones, pp. 84–85 PROVENANCE: Adrian Van Sinderen — by descent to the present owner

View 1 of Lot 1003: (Franklin, Benjamin) | A very rare work written and printed by Franklin, containing "the earliest American political cartoon" 

(franklin, benjamin) | a very rare work written and printed by franklin, containing "the earliest american political cartoon"

[John Armstrong] The Art of Preserving Health: A Poem. London, Printed: Philadelphia: Re-printed, and Sold by B. Franklin, M.DCC.XLV (1745) 4to (192 x 124 mm). Complete with all four section-titles, woodcut title-page ornament and tailpieces (Miller, appendix B, 19 and 21); dampstaining, early ownership marking on title page. Period-style full calf, blind-ruled, maroon morocco spine label. Dark blue slipcase, chemise. An exceedingly rare Franklin imprint: the first American edition of physician-poet John Armstrong's poem on health and well-being. John Armstrong (1709–1779), aScottish-born poet and physician, blended his two professions when he penned this long didactic poem in blank verse. It is divided into four books, each pertaining to a different pillar of good health: air, diet, exercise, and the passions. Despite having "a somewhat unpromising subject for poetic treatment [it] is gracefully and ingeniously handled" (John W. Cousin, A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, London: J.M. Dent, 1910). The poem was very successful when first published in London by Andrew Millar in 1744, and it afforded its author a degree of contemporary fame. Armstrong published both prose and verse regularly after 1744, and was an active member in London's literary circles. He corresponded extensively with Tobias Smollett, James Thomson, John Wilkes, and others. He also practiced as a physician and published several medical works. It is a testament to The Art of Preserving Health's widespread success that Benjamin Franklin, across the Atlantic in Philadelphia, decided to reprint the poem so soon after it first appeared in London. Rare—ESTC lists only twelve copies in institutions; the last copy that sold at auction was in 1941 at Parke Bernet, and prior to that, copies appeared at Henkels in 1932, 1921, and 1917; Rosenbach offered a copy in 1917; the great Franklin collector Samuel Pennypacker never owned a copy. REFERENCES Miller 367; ESTC W872; Evans 5532; Hildeburn 913; Sabin 2023; R. B. Austin, Early American Medical Imprints 78;Lewis M. Knapp, "Dr. John Armstrong, Littérateur, and Associate of Smollett, Thomson, Wilkes, and Other Celebrities," in PMLA, Vol. 59, No. 4 (Dec., 1944), pp. 1019–1058 PROVENANCE Largely illegible early ownership signature on the title-page, possibly beginning with "A" and "G"

View 1 of Lot 35: (John Armstrong) | An exceedingly rare Franklin imprint

(john armstrong) | an exceedingly rare franklin imprint

Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana

Franklin, Benjamin The Complete Works ... New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1887 10 vol, 8vo (232 x 151 mm). Half-title, numbered 552 of 660, engraved frontispiece portrait of Franklin with tissue guard in the 1st and 4th volumes, woodcut head- and tail-pieces; offsetting from frontispiece in first volume, occasional stray spots. Early twentieth-century half dark green-brown morocco over green boards, spine with raised bands in six compartments, second and third compartment lettered in gilt, others with repeat gilt decoration, dated in gilt at foot, top edges gilt; boards rubbed and with occasional soiling, adhesive affixed to upper board of 2nd volume, fore-edges edges a little browned. One of only 600 numbered sets. Bigelow notes in his preface that the "'Autobiography' is here printed, for the first time in any collected edition of his works, from the original manuscript and without mutilation." The handsome set also contains Experiments and Observations on Electricity, Franklin's periodical writings, and his extensive correspondence. In addition to the complete Autobiography, the set contains substantial material that had previously been unpublished. Between the publication of Sparks' edition of 1836-1842 and the present one, a substantial collection of Franklin's papers came to light, and were made available to Bigelow by the Library of Congress.

View 1 of Lot 26: Franklin, Benjamin | One of only 600 numbered sets

franklin, benjamin | one of only 600 numbered sets

Pennsylvania General Assembly Anno Quarto. Georgii III. Regis. An Act for Preventing Tumults and Riotous Assemblies, and for the More Speedy and Effectual Punishing the Rioters. [Philadelphia: B. Franklin and David Hall, 3 February 1764] Folio (325 x 205 mm). Folded as issued, untrimmed; four old horizontal folds, edges a little ragged, a few tiny holes along vertical fold. Housed in a custom folding-case. Rare first printing of this Pennsylvania act to quell the Paxton Boys. Amid increasing conflict between settlers of Pennsylvania's frontier towns and the nearby indigenous tribes, dozens of armed young men from Paxton raided an indigenous village and workhouse, brutally murdering twenty in December 1763, including women and children. In response, Governor John Penn urged the Assembly to pass an act to restrain the settlers termed the Paxton Boys, who were "intent on marching from Lancaster to Philadelphia and killing the Indians lodged for safety on Province Island" (Miller). The act was passed on 3 February 1764 and served as an extension of the 1715 British Riot Act, which allowed local authorities to demand that any unlawful or riotous gathering of 12 of more people be dispersed or punished. It was reprinted in the Pennsylvania Gazette on 9 February. Extremely rare: ESTC locates just three copies held by institutions, and Rare Book Hub records the work only twice at auction in the last century. REFERENCES Miller 816; ESTC W7478; Evans 9782; Hildeburn 1949 PROVENANCE Christie's, 19 May 2011, lot 154 (undesignated consignor)

View 1 of Lot 93: Pennsylvania General Assembly | An act to quell the brutal riots of the Paxton Boys

pennsylvania general assembly | an act to quell the brutal riots of the paxton boys

(Franklin, Benjamin) Constitutions des treize Etats-Unis de L'Amérique. Philadelphia and Paris: [Printed for Franklin by] Philippe-Denis Pierres and Pissot, 1783 ﻿4to (251 x 191 mm). Title with woodcut seal of the United States, half-title; minimal wear and soiling. French red morocco gilt, spine gilt in 6 compartments, gilt arms of Joseph-Marie-Francois de Lassone on covers, edges gilt, blue patterned endpapers; very good with minimal wear. Red morocco gilt clamshell case. The Franklin-inspired French edition of the constitutions of the original thirteen states of the newly created United States, with the first appearance in book form of the great seal of the United States. This copy is the very rare large-paper quarto issue printed on papier velin for presentation by Franklin. Franklin was the ambassador to the French Court and had just completed negotiations with Great Britain for the independence of the United States. The work was translated by the Duc de la Rouchefocauld at Franklin's suggestion and includes over fifty footnote annotations by Franklin. Besides the thirteen state constitutions, the work includes the texts of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the treaties between the United States and France, the Low Countries, and Sweden. The title-page bears the first appearance in book form of the seal of the United States: the eagle, stars, and stripes. On 25 December 1783, Franklin wrote to Thomas Mifflin, President of the Continental Congress, "… The extravagant Misrepresentations of our Political State, in foreign Countries, made it appear necessary to give them better information, which I thought could not be more effectually and authentically done than by publishing a Translation into French, now the most general language in Europe, of the Book of Constitutions which had been printed by Order of Congress. This I accordingly got well done, and presented two Copies handsomely bound to every foreign Minister here …. It has been well taken and has afforded Matter of Surprise to many, who had conceived mean Ideas of the State of Civilization in America, and could not have expected so much political Knowledge and Sagacity had existed in our Wilderness. And from all Parts I have the Satisfaction to hear that our Constitutions in general are much admired. I am persuaded that this Step will not only tend to promote the Emigration to our Country of substantial People from all Parts of Europe, by the numerous Copies I shall dispense, but will facilitate our future Treaties with Foreign Courts, who could not before know what kind of Government and People they had to treat with. As in doing this I have endeavour'd to further the apparent Views of Congress in the first Publication, I hope it may be approved, and the Expense allow'd. …" The elegantly bound quarto edition on papier velin was printed for Franklin strictly for presentation. This copy bears the arms of Joseph-Marie-Francois de Lassone (1717–88), the first physician to King Louis XVI and to Queens Marie Leszczynska and Marie Antoinette. Lassone was also one of the founders of the Royal Academy of Medicine, to which Franklin was inducted in 1777. An early inscription on the verso of the half-title confirms that this copy was presented to the original owner by Franklin himself: "Il avait été donné par B. Francklin [sic] a M. de Lassone, medecin de Louis Seize, de fils celuy-cy m'en fit présent en 1794. V. S." While the small-paper issue of this work is common, the large-paper issue on papier velin is a major rarity, and a tribute to Franklin's taste and care as a printer and publisher. Only a few copies have appeared at auction. The La Rochefoucauld copy, in a similar red morocco armorial binding, realized the equivalent of $126,500 at Sotheby's Monaco in 1987. PROVENANCE Joseph-Francois-Marie de Lassone (armorial binding), given by his children in 1794 to — "V. S." (inscription) — Jean R. Perrette (bookplate; Christie's New York, 5 April 2016, lot 381) REFERENCE Celebration of My Country 100; Durand Echeverria, "French Publications of the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitutions, 1776–1783" in Bibliographical Society of America Papers 47 (1953), p. 313 ff; Howes C716; Livingston, Franklin & His Press at Passy, pp 181–88; Sabin 16118

View 1 of Lot 177: (Franklin, Benjamin) | A superb presentation copy from Benjamin Franklin to Louis XVI's personal physician

(franklin, benjamin) | a superb presentation copy from benjamin franklin to louis xvi's personal physician

Benjamin Franklin Works of the Late Doctor Benjamin Franklin: Consisting of His Life Written by Himself, Together With Essays, Humorous, Moral & Literary, Chiefly in the Manner of the Spectator. London: Printed for G. G. J. and J. Robinson, [no date, ca. 1793] 2 volumes, 8vo (173 x 117 mm). Engraved title-pages with portrait vignettes of Franklin in a fur hat, errata at rear of volume 1, both volumes with Benjamin Franklin's "Mr. Franklin" bookplate stenciled on the front flyleaves by his descendant Franklin Bache in 1939; title-pages foxed, occasional light spotting and soiling in the text, a few dog-eared corners, volume 1 with a short tear in the margin of leaf M3, volume 2 with a short marginal tear in leaf B8. Later three-quarter green leather, gilt, green cloth boards, top edge gilt; a few small spots of wear at the joints, spines, and corners. The first edition of this much-improved translation of Franklin's autobiography, the third edition overall, the first issue with the errata leaf present in volume 1. Franklin's original bookplate stencils were acquired by the American Philosophical Society in 1947. REFERENCES ESTC N26015; Ford, Franklin Bibliography, 438 PROVENANCE Dan Stroud (1772–1846; a founder of Stroudsburg, Monroe County, Pennsylvania; ink signature dated 1794) — Simpson Stroud (ink gift annotation, dated 22 December 1814) — Franklin Bache (ink bookplate-stencil of his relative Benjamin Franklin) — S. L. Nicholson (a gift from Frankin Bache, with a tipped-in note in volume 1 and a laid-in note in volume 2 explaining the stencil and with some bibliographic details) — National Book Auctions, 8 October 2016, lot 8340 (undesignated consignor)

View 1 of Lot 148: Benjamin Franklin | The best early edition in English of Franklin's works, with intriguing provenance

benjamin franklin | the best early edition in english of franklin's works, with intriguing provenance

Benjamin Franklin Autograph letter signed (“BFranklin,” with paraph) to his grandson William Temple Franklin (“Dear Child”), one page (234 x 180 mm) on a leaf of laid paper (watermarked Pro Patria with Maid of Dort, countermarked crowned GR), Passy, 29 August 1784, regarding the purchase of a printing press, with a four-line postscript dated “Sept. 1” written longitudinally in the left margin, two reception/file dockets on verso; fold separations and repairs with a few tiny losses not affecting text. Half black morocco folding-case gilt, chemise. With ratified versions of the Treaty of Paris having been exchanged in Paris three months earlier, Franklin turns his attention to an earlier interest of his: printing presses. He asks his grandson, and personal secretary, William Temple Franklin to obtain an English-made press for a friend in Paris. The younger Franklin—having just learned that he was not to be retained as secretary of the new United States commission to France, headed by Thomas Jefferson, but to be replaced by David Humphreys—was travelling to London to try to reconcile with his father, the Loyalist William Franklin, and to try to persuade some of his grandfather’s friends, including Mary “Polly” Hewson and William Strahan to return with him to Passy. “I received last Night your Letter from Calais, and was glad to hear you were so far safe.— “When I liv’d in London, there was a Letter-founder of the Name of Moore who liv’d somewhere near Moorfields. He made Printing-Presses of a new Construction, which I lik’d much, and bought one for Lord le Despencer. I have undertaken to procure one for a Friend here, and desire you would buy it, & send it to Calais by the Stage from London first to Dover; or, which is better, by some Vessel to Rouen.— That which I bought cost I think but 5 Guineas: perhaps they may now be cheaper.—” According to a note in the Papers, “In 1771 the typefounder Isaac Moore patented, with his partner William Pine, a lever-and-fulcrum press and a screw press with a detachable fly weight. It is not known which of these [Franklin] bought for Baron Le Despencer (Sir Francis Dashwood).” The friend for whom Franklin was ordering a second Moore press was Etienne-Alexandre-Jacques Anisson-Duperon (known as Anisson fils), who would write to Franklin on 8 November 1784 to remind him of “la nouvelle presse angloise que aviez bien voulu me promettre de me faire venir de Londres.” Two days later, Franklin assured Anisson fils that William Temple “writes to me that he has bought your Press, which cost Eight Guineas; and that it will be sent by a Ship to Rouen” (Papers 43:246, 262). Franklin relays other news, including having dined with the Adamses, British peace commissioner David Hartley, patroness of the arts and sciences Anne-Catherine de Ligniville d’Autricourt Helvétius, and others. According to the journal of the younger Abigail Adams, the party also included John Paul Jones. “M. le Veillard is better, & gets up.— I think I am better too. I din’d yesterday at Auteuil with Mr. Adams. Made. Helvetius took me there in her Coach, & Mr Hartley brought me home; and I suffer’d no Inconvenience.” Louis-Guillaume Le Veillard was Franklin’s close friend and neighbor in Passy, proprietor of a mineral-water aquifer that provided both drinking water and a spa; he was guillotined during the Terror. Franklin continues: “Aug. 30. I intended this for the Post of this Day, but have been prevented.— I shall try to write some others to send with it by Mr Hartley’s Courier on Thursday—”; and then makes a final request: “Bring with you two or three small Pencils, black lead, for my Pencil Case. They must not be bigger in Diameter than this Circle [Franklin has drawn a circle five mm in diameter]. I am ever Your affectionate Grandfather.” The postscript adds, “I have not had time to write any other Letters, the Commrs. meeting every Day at my House— All well.— M. Le Veillard excepted; but he is better.—” Benjamin Franklin urged William Temple (the illegitimate son of Franklin’s own acknowledged extra-marital son, William) to undertake this trip to England partly to avoid embarrassment at having lost his position, but more importantly, to act as go-between between his father and grandfather. Responding to an overture from Benjamin, William Franklin had written to his father in the summer of 1784, stating that “Ever since the Termination of the unhappy Contest between Great Britain and America, I have been anxious to write to you, and to endeavour to revive that affectionate Intercourse and Connexion which till the Commencement of the late Troubles had been the Pride and Happiness of my Life. … Now I have broken the Ice, many Things occur which I much want an Opportunity to mention; too many, indeed, for the Limits of a Letter, and some of them respecting private Family Affairs, of a very important Nature, that cannot well be adjusted without a personal Interview. I shall therefore, if you are not likely to be soon in England, be happy to have your Approbation to wait on you at Paris” (Papers 42:432–436). Franklin’s response, 16 August 1784, was both warm and reserved: “I received your Letter of the 22d past, and am glad to find that you desire to revive the affectionate Intercourse that formerly existed between us. It will be very agreable to me. Indeed nothing has ever hurt me so much and affected me with such keen Sensations, as to find my self deserted in my old Age by my only Son; and not only deserted, but to find him taking up Arms against me, in a Cause wherein my good Fame, Fortune and Life were all at Stake. … This is a disagreable Subject. I drop it. And we will endeavour as you propose mutually to forget what has happened relating to it, as well as we can.— … I shall be glad to see you when convenient, but would not have you come here at present. You may confide to your Son the Family Affairs you wished to confer upon with me, for he is discreet” (Papers 43:8–12). Resolving these “Family Affairs”—not procuring a printing press—was the true purpose of the trip being undertaken by William Temple Franklin at the time this letter was written. Correspondence from Franklin to William Temple is surprisingly scarce since they were so often in each other’s company. REFERENCES Papers of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Cohn, 43:72–73 PROVENANCE Christie’s New York, 15 December 2005, lot 232 (“The Property of a Gentleman”)

View 1 of Lot 127: Benjamin Franklin | Ordering a printing press—and opening reconciliation with his son

benjamin franklin | ordering a printing press—and opening reconciliation with his son

Benjamin Franklin Poor Richard improved: Being an Almanack and Ephemeris of the Motions of the Sun and Moon … For the Year of our Lord 1750 ... Fitted to the Latitude of forty degrees, and a Meridian of near five hours west from London; but may, without sensible error, serve all the Northern Colonies. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by B. Franklin and D. Hall, [1749] 12mo (165 x 102 mm, uncut). Woodcut borders, anatomical man, and monthly panels; some browning and offsetting, stray spots, one or two closed marginal tears, longer closed tears neatly repaired. Stitched self-wrappers; some rubbing and soiling. Housed in custom slipcase, chemise. First edition—the Rosenbach copy. REFERENCES Miller 469; ESTC ; Evans 6320; Hildeburn 1154; Drake 9716 PROVENANCE A. S. W. Rosenbach (note laid in, "From the private library of A.S.W. Rosenbach.") — John Fleming

View 1 of Lot 49: Benjamin Franklin | Poor Richard … for the Year 1750

benjamin franklin | poor richard … for the year 1750

Benjamin Franklin Poor Richard Improved: Being an Almanack and Ephemeris of the Motions of the Sun and Moon … For the Year 1758 ... Fitted to the Latitude of forty degrees, and a Meridian of near five hours west from London; but may, without sensible error, serve all the Northern Colonies. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by B. Franklin and D. Hall, [1757] 12mo (150 x 84 mm). Manuscript table at front, woodcut borders and vignettes including anatomical man and monthly panels; some margins shaved costing a few letters and affecting borders, scattered spotting and soiling, final leaf with tissue reinforcement to gutter. Bound in boards of an original Sammelband, which at one point included other issues, contemporary brown calf; rebacked with repairs to corners. Housed in custom clamshell case. First edition and the last of the series written by Franklin. "In this … are assembled the cream of [Franklin's] proverbs and wit of the twenty-four previous issues. They are in the form of a speech, delivered by an old man at a country auction, which was soon reprinted as separates under the titles of Father Abraham's Speech, The Way to Wealth, and La Science du Bonhomme Richard" (Grolier/American 12). Aphorisms present here include "God helps them that help themselves," and "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." "The Way to Wealth,"under various titles, "has been oftener printed and translated ... than any other work from an American pen" (Ford). REFERENCES Miller 657; ESTC W22792; Evans 7899; Hildeburn 1558; Drake 9796

View 1 of Lot 75: Benjamin Franklin | Poor Richard… for the year 1758—the last of the series written by Franklin 

benjamin franklin | poor richard… for the year 1758—the last of the series written by franklin

(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 

benjamin franklin — david hall | a nearly complete 1757 run of "the pennsylvania gazette," franklin and hall's philadelphia newspaper

Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana. Part 2

(Franklin, Benjamin) — Library Company of Philadelphia

(Franklin, Benjamin) — Library Company of Philadelphia A Catalogue of the Books, Belonging to the Library Company of Philadelphia; to which is prefixed, a short account of the institution, with the charter, laws and regulations. Philadelphia: Zachariah Poulson, Jr, 1789 8vo (222 x 133 mm). Errata at end, uncut; light browning and spotting, mainly marginal. Bound to style in half calf with contemporary marbled paper-covered boards, gilt red morocco lettering piece to spine; boards very lightly scuffed. A landmark Enlightenment-era catalogue from Franklin’s Library Company—issued while it served as the de facto Library of Congress. The 1789 catalogue marks a pivotal moment in American intellectual history. Organized according to the Diderot Encyclopédie's tripartite division of knowledge—Memory, Reason, and Imagination—it departs from earlier alphabetical systems to present a radical, subject-driven arrangement of 4,000 titles. As James Green notes, the catalogue “brilliantly reconciled the book culture of the old world with the quotidian realities of the new.” The Library Company, founded by Benjamin Franklin, was at this time the official library of Congress. This edition includes the charter, bylaws, and a 7-page list of members—among them Franklin himself—as well as a full index of authors. REFERENCES: Evans 22066; Sabin 61785; ESTC W42494; Winans 131

View 1 of Lot 1007: (Franklin, Benjamin) | Catalogue of the famed library founded by Benjamin Franklin

(franklin, benjamin) | catalogue of the famed library founded by benjamin franklin

Jonathan Edwards The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God. Applied to the Uncommon Operation that has Lately Appeared on the Minds of Many of the People of the Land. … A discourse delivered at New-Haven, September 10th, 1741. … Boston, Printed: Philadelphia: Re-printed and Sold by Benjamin Franklin, in Market-Street, 1742 8vo (154 x95 mm). Typographic ornaments in text, occasional annotations; Light even toning, a few small spots and stains, corners rounded, text-block trimmed close and skimming the footnotes on p. iv, occasional creasing and one small loss (leaf E3) at corners, a thin hole in the title-page affecting four lines of text, small loss at the tail of the gutter in the last two leaves just touching a catchword and a few lines of text. Disbound; the first gathering sewn, a few remnants of early sewing in the text. Half green morocco folding-case, chemise. The exceedingly rare Franklin edition of Jonathan Edwards's important sermon on identifying God's true works, written in defense of the First Great Awakening by one of the movement's pivotal leaders. This sermon was given at Yale College in September of 1741. The college's administration had invited their esteemed alumnus, a child prodigy who matriculated at the age of 13 and graduated as valedictorian, back to campus to give a commencement speech. They hoped that Edwards would quell certain revivalist students' extreme behaviors. What they got was something else entirely. As the First Great Awakening stretched into the 1740s, Edwards and his fellow revivalists faced increasing backlash from orthodox church leaders, who argued that his movement favored emotionalism and individualism over theology and authority. Jonathan Edwards responded in this work, presenting a well-considered argument in support of the evangelical revival. He cautiously defended the revivalists' penchant for fire and brimstone preaching, and addressed the ecstatic swooning and convulsing that was common in evangelical congregations. He explained that these "bodily effects," though not marks of God in themselves, were signs of an increased love of Christ, scripture, and truth among his congregants. The text is an expanded version of Edwards' Yale sermon, with a preface by the Reverend William Cooper of Boston. The first edition was published in Boston by S. Kneeland and T. Green in 1741. Four subsequent editions were published the following year, in London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and the present Philadelphia edition put out by Franklin, a testament to the sermon's widespread popularity. Rare—ESTC lists just four institutions with copies (though none are at Yale), and apparently this copy is the last example offered at auction, in 1919, and this is the only example we can trace in private hands. REFERENCES Miller 279; ESTC W18765; Evans 4937; Hildeburn 760; Johnson, Edwards 51; T. A. Schafer, "Jonathan Edwards" in Encyclopedia Britannica, March 18, 2026 (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jonathan-Edwards) PROVENANCE Arnold Boyd (early ownership signature on title) — Evidently the copy sold at Henkels on 26 June, 1919, "Important Historical and Literary Sale. From the Library of Caesar Rodney, Signer of the Declaration of Independence …," lot 202 ("unbound. … The present copy is time-stained, and the corners rounded, or as we say cat-eared.")

View 1 of Lot 26: Jonathan Edwards | A rare Franklin imprint written in defense of early evangelicalism

jonathan edwards | a rare franklin imprint written in defense of early evangelicalism

Benjamin Franklin Experiments and Observations on Electricity, made at Philadelphia in America, … and Commuinicated in several Letters to Mr. P. Collinson, of London, F.R.S. London: Printed and sold by E. Cave, at St. John’s Gate, 1751 [bound with:] Supplemental Experiments and Observations on Electricity, made at Philadelphia in America, Part II. London: Printed and sold by E. Cave, at St. John’s Gate, 1753 [and with:] New Experiments and Observations on Electricity. Made at Philadelphia in America. … To which are added A Paper on the same Subject by J. Canton … and another in defence of Mr. Franklin against the Abbe Nollet, by Mr. D. Colden, of New York. Part III. London: Printed and sold by D. Henry, and R. Cave, at St. John’s-Gate, 1754 3 parts in one volume, 4to (228 x 170 mm). First work with folding engraved plate by T. Jefferys and final leaf of advertisements for Cave’s publications, part II with errata to first part on P4v, part III with woodcut text illustration; some scattered minor foxing and soiling, P4 with repaired tear at lower margin, a couple of very tiny and virtually undetectable wormholes in the top margins of the first two parts, occasionally just touching a letter of a headline, part III evidently added to the first two parts at a somewhat later date and its final page quite soiled. Handsome retrospective calf-backed marbled boards using period materials, red edges to first two parts; rebacked. Half brown morocco folding-case gilt. First editions. “The most important scientific book of eighteenth-century America” (Printing and the Mind of Man). Franklin's published reports of his experiments in electricity, written as a series of letters addressed to Peter Collinson, made him the first American scientist to secure an international reputation and led to his election as the first colonial American member of the Royal Society. In addition to the famous kite and key experiment, Franklin's work with Leyden jars, lightning rods, and charged clouds is summarized. The three publications of Experiments and Observations were issued with continuous pagination and signatures despite their irregular publication. “The letters that Franklin had been sending to Collinson in London contained such novel and provocative experimental results and such a clear explanation of complex electrical phenomena, especially in using the recently discovered Leyden jar, that his letters were read at meetings of the Royal Society, and correspondence flourished with European savants engaged in electrical experimenting. Edward Cave, London publisher, perceived in Franklin's letters readership potential. With the sponsorship of Collinson, and Dr. John Fothergill as editor and writer of the unsigned preface, Franklin's Experiments and Observations on Electricity Made at Philadelphia, was published in London in 1751. The contents span a period reaching from a letter from Franklin to Collinson dated 28 July 1747; they discuss the properties of the Leyden jar and suggest eleven experiments in support of his conclusions. The book ends with ‘Opinions and Conjectures Concerning the Properties and Effects of the electrical Matter made in Philadelphia, 1749.’ In the 37 paragraphs of this lengthy letter Franklin emphasized the ‘operation of points’ in drawing off the electrical fire. He conjectured, ‘Now if the fire of electricity and that of lightning be the same, as I have endeavour'd to show at large in a former paper …’” (Dibner, 1976, pp. 13–14). Franklin’s experimental proof of his theory “that the Electrical Fire was not created by Friction, but collected, being an Element diffused among, and attracted by other Matter, particularly by Water and Metals,” was termed by Robert Andrews Millikan, the 1923 Nobel Prize winner in physics, “probably the most fundamental thing ever done in the field of electricity” (quoted in Lemay, Life 3:69). REFERENCES Dibner 57; Grolier/American 10; Grolier/Horblit 31a; Norman 830; Printing and the Mind of Man 199; Sabin 25505; Streeter sale 7:4151; cf. Dibner, Benjamin Franklin Electrician (1976) PROVENANCE Wakefield Mechanics Institute (ink stamp to title-page of Part III)

View 1 of Lot 59: Benjamin Franklin | “probably the most fundamental thing ever done in the field of electricity”

benjamin franklin | “probably the most fundamental thing ever done in the field of electricity”

[Mary “Polly” Stevenson Hewson] George III upholstered armchair in the Louis XIV style. London: ca. 1760 Mahogany and beechwood (88 cm; 35.5 in high). Modern upholstery, with platform (28 x 31 x 4 in); original legs with some cracks, minor imperfections. One of three known examples of Franklin's armchairs, bequeathed to Mary “Polly” Stevenson Hewson in his will. The present armchair was one of a set of six chairs Franklin purchased for his rooms at 36 Craven Street, where he lodged with Margaret Stevenson and her daughter Polly from 1757 until 1775. Franklin took this chair with him when he returned to Philadelphia in 1785, and he eventually left it to Polly in his will. The set has sometimes been attributed to John Cobb, the prominent London cabinetmaker and upholsterer who supplied furniture for King George III in the early 1760s. REFERENCES Cf. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin and his Circle, 303 and 304 PROVENANCE Benjamin Franklin, bequeathed to — Polly Stevenson — thence by descent to — Theodore E. Wiederseim

View 1 of Lot 87: [Mary “Polly” Stevenson Hewson] | A George III armchair, bequeathed in Franklin's will

[mary “polly” stevenson hewson] | a george iii armchair, bequeathed in franklin's will

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

Thomas Cadwalader An Essay on the West-India Dry Gripes; with the Method of Preventing and Curing that Cruel Distemper. To which is added An Extraordinary Case in Physick. Philadelphia: Printed and sold by B. Franklin, M.DCC.XLV (1745) Small 4to (190 x 145 mm). Woodcut tailpiece ornament (Miller, appendix B, no. 19); head of the title-page trimmed with loss to the tops of letters "AN," light foxing and spotting, some dampstaining, tiny chips at fore-edge of leaves A1 and A2, a marginal tear in leaf F1 not touching the text, a témoin at upper corner of F3, and a small chip at the upper corner of F4. Early nineteenth-century quarter calf over speckled paper boards, red morocco spine label, with original rear wrapper bound in; rebacked, wear to extremities, a few small losses to the speckled paper along the board edges. Half morocco slipcase, chemise. "One of the earliest significant contributions to clinical medicine made by an American physician" (Norman). Thomas Cadwalader (1708-1779), an eminent Philadelphia physician, was among the founders of the Pennsylvania Hospital and an inaugural trustee of the University of Pennsylvania medical school. He was also a founder and director of the Library Company, and a member of the American Philosophical Society and the Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge. Later in life, when the Revolution broke out, he emerged as a strong supporter of the Continental Army and formed a committee to examine candidates for positions as surgeons in the Navy. This treatise, the only work Cadwalader published, deals with lead colic and lead palsy, two forms of lead poisoning that were increasingly common in colonial America. The doctor argues that the source of these ailments was Jamaican Rum, often distilled through lead pipes and served in punch. He recommends mild cathartics and opium as remedies for "dry-gripes." The second part of the treatise, "An Extraordinary Case in Physick," deals with an autopsy that Cadwalader undertook on a woman who had suffered from a severe case of osteomalacia (softening of the bones), one of the first such cases recorded in the United States. A landmark work in American medicine — the earliest text by an American physician based on original research that deals with the pathology of a specific illness and its treatment, and the earliest published description of an autopsy in America. Exceedingly rare, with only a handful of copies in institutions and, according to RareBookHub, one of only two copies (this one and the Norman—Snider copy, last auctioned at the Bloomsbury Snider sale in 2008) to have appeared at auction since 1998. REFERENCES Miller 369; ESTC W20303; Evans 5553; Hildeburn Norman, 385 PROVENANCE Freeman's, 19 September 19 2002, Lot 869 (undesignated consignor)

View 1 of Lot 33: Thomas Cadwalader | An important, early American medical work on lead poisoning, printed by Franklin

thomas cadwalader | an important, early american medical work on lead poisoning, printed by franklin

[Privy Council Hearing — Benjamin Franklin]

[Privy Council Hearing — Benjamin Franklin] [Prefatory note addressed to Lord Dartmouth] Proceedings of His Majesty’s Privy-Council on the Address of the Assembly of Massachusetts-Bay, to Remove His Governor and Lieutenant-Governor; with the Substance of Mr. Wedderburn's Speech relative to said Address. [Boston:] Sold at the Printing-Office in School-street [1774] Folio (397 x 255 mm). Bifolium, comprising 4 pages of letterpress, the text in three columns; light toning, a few minor stains, splits and small losses along the folds, affecting a few words in the text, closed with Japanese tissue, the document flattened, an early ink annotation in the margin of the final page. Housed in a custom cloth portfolio. A rare Boston printing of the proceedings of the Privy Council Hearing following the Hutchinson Letters Affair, one of the most controversial and significant events of Benjamin Franklin's political career. The document begins with Franklin's letter to Lord Dartmouth, in which he urged restraint and approval from the British in response to the Massachusetts Assembly's demand that Governor Hutchinson be removed from his post. Franklin writes that "Their resentment against Britain is thence much abated. This good disposition of their's (will your lordship permit me to say), may be cultivated by a favorable answer to this address." The letter is followed by a series of texts from the Privy Council Hearing of 28 January 1773, where Franklin acted as the colonial agent for the Massachusetts House of Representatives, but was treated as though he himself was on trial. This includes Franklin's cross examination, ending with his demand for council, and Wedderburn's long and pointed address against Franklin. During the lawyer's speech Franklin was publicly humiliated, personally attacked, and repeated labelled a thief. This is referenced by the inscription written on the final page—a Latin insult that originated with the Roman playwright Plautus and was applied to Franklin by Wedderburn: "Homo trium litterarum … or fur" [that is, a man of three letters, fur being the Latin word for thief]. The document concludes with the full text of the Massachusetts Assembly's letter petitioning the British to remove Governor Hutchinson, and the British Crown's outright refusal of their demands. The Privy Council Hearing ordeal is often seen as a major factor in Franklin's abandoning his hopes of an easy reconciliation with the English, leading to his decision to wholeheartedly support American independence. We locate two books printed in Boston in 1773 that contain Hutchinson's letters and much of the material found printed here, as well as editions printed in London and Dublin in 1774. This edition, however, is in an unusual format and is exceedingly rare: no copies can be traced in Rare Book Hub, and the only institutional example is held at the Massachusetts Historical Society per ESTC. As such, this is likely the only copy in private hands. REFERENCES ESTC W6527; Bristol B3758; Ford, Massachusetts 1727; Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003) pp. 271–280

View 1 of Lot 107: [Privy Council Hearing — Benjamin Franklin] | A rare Boston printing of the proceedings of the Privy Council Hearings

[privy council hearing — benjamin franklin] | a rare boston printing of the proceedings of the privy council hearings

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

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