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Catalogue 260 Colonial Americana |
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Section II: Cockings to Franklin |
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Papers
on Book Collecting by William S. Reese
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French and Indian War in Heroic Verse 29. Cockings, George: WAR; AN HEROIC POEM, FROM THE TAKING OF MINORCA, BY THE FRENCH; TO THE REDUCTION OF THE HAVANNAH, BY THE EARL OF ALBEMARLE, SIR GEORGE PEACOCK, &c. THE SECOND EDITION [sic], TO THE RAISING THE SIEGE OF QUEBEC: WITH LARGE AMENDMENTS, AND ADDITIONS. Boston: Printed by S. Adams, for the Author, 1762. xvi,190,[2],1-46,[2]pp. Half title. Antique-style calf. Half title trimmed at top margin with no loss of text. Occasional foxing and staining. Very good. The first American edition of this extended account in verse of the French and Indian War, with numerous footnotes providing additional information about historical events. First published in London in 1760, a second London edition was issued in 1762. This first American edition was followed by another printing in Portsmouth in the same year. An additional 1765 Portsmouth printing is reported, although Shipton and Mooney were unable to locate a copy. The better part of the work describes events in Canada, especially the taking of Quebec and the siege of Louisbourg. The final two pages contain a publisher’s prospectus seeking subscribers for "a supplement to the foregoing poem and a period to this glorious War." The advertisement concludes with a note indicating that "any gentlemen inclin’d to subscribe, may hear the preface, explanation, and poem, from the author, but he will not part with the manuscript to anyone." EVANS 9091. WEGELIN 79. SABIN 14110. NAIP w020856. $1750. 30. Colden, Cadwallader: [CONTEMPORARY MANUSCRIPT COPY OF AN AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM CADWALLADER COLDEN TO ARCHIBALD KENNEDY, RECEIVER-GENERAL OF NEW YORK]. [Np]. April 25, 1733. [1]p., with integral blank leaf which is docketed in manuscript on verso. Folio. Several small tears and nicks along old horizontal folds, tanned. Lower forecorner of blank integral leaf cut, with loss of paper but no loss of text. Overall condition is quite good. This is a contemporary copy of an autograph letter, signed, one page in length, with no place, dated April 25, 1733, to Archibald Kennedy, receiver-general of New York. This is an important letter discussing boundaries of the Wawayanda and Minisink patents in Orange and Sullivan counties in New York. Colden, here as surveyor-general of New York, gives his detailed opinions about the boundaries in question. In 1761, Colden became lieutenant-governor of New York. A scientist and philosopher, he was one of the most brilliant leaders of colonial New York. His book, History of the Five Nations (1727), is a classic account of American Indians during the colonial period. $1750. 31. [Connecticut]: ACTS AND LAWS OF HIS MAJESTY’S ENGLISH COLONY OF CONNECTICUT, IN NEW-ENGLAND, IN AMERICA. New Haven & New London. 1769. 8,10,348pp. Folio. Contemporary sheep, moderately worn and rubbed. Light dampstain in outer margin of titlepage and front endpapers. Upper third of front free endpaper and several rear end leaves excised. Light scattered foxing. Very good. Acts and laws of colonial Connecticut through 1769, printed with the colony’s 1662 royal charter and an index. "This edition has the title and charter newly set up and a new table extending to p. 342; but the body of the book is made up of the second edition of the 1750 revision, pp. 1-262 (no. 128), the compiled session acts of 1768, pp. 263-336 (no. 180), and the session acts of Oct. 1768, Jan. 1769, pp. 337-345 (nos. 181, 182, 183)" – Bates. The laws from the October 1768 session (pp.337-8, Evans 10862) bear Timothy Green’s 1768 New London imprint. EVANS 10862, 11215, 11216, 11217, 11218. JOHNSON 845, 868, 869, 870, 871, 872. BATES 185. $1250. Charters of the British Colonies 32. [Constitutions]: A LIST OF COPIES OF CHARTERS, FROM THE COMMISSIONERS FOR TRADE AND PLANTATIONS, PRESENTED TO THE HONOURABLE THE HOUSE OF COMMONS...25th OF APRIL 1740.... London. 1741. [2],12,10,14,12, 21,18pp. Folio. Contemporary three-quarter calf and marbled boards. Front board nearly detached and held by one cord, boards worn and rubbed. Front fly leaf torn at upper corner. Withal a nice copy in contemporary, unsophisticated condition. In a half morocco box. Prints the charters of Maryland (in Latin), Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Bay, and Georgia. The first collected edition of American colonial charters, all foundation documents for the respective states. "Each charter is printed with its own signature-marks and pagination as if for separate publication" – De Renne. An important American constitutional item. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 741/99. DE RENNE, pp.91-94. JCB (3)I:678. SABIN 41430. $5250. First Documents of Revolution 33. [Continental Congress]: EXTRACTS FROM THE VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, HELD AT PHILADELPHIA ON THE 5th OF SEPTEMBER 1774. CONTAINING THE BILL OF RIGHTS, A LIST OF GRIEVANCES, OCCASIONAL RESOLVES, THE ASSOCIATION...PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE CONGRESS. Philadelphia: Printed by William and Thomas Bradford, 1774. [4], 23,36pp. Half title. Antique three-quarter calf and marbled boards. Uniformly toned. Very good. One of the most significant documents of the American Revolution, condensing the most important proceedings of the First Continental Congress between Sept. 5 and Oct. 26, 1774. This publishes the Declaration of Rights, passed Oct. 14, by which Congress asserts the colonists’ rights as Englishmen and claims they were violated by the Stamp Act, the Townsend Act, the Coercive Acts, and the Quebec Acts. It further asserts their right to peaceably assemble and have their own legislatures. The Declaration is followed by the Association, by which the colonies bound themselves to an agreement regarding non-importation, non-exportation, and non-consumption of British goods, and resolved to reassemble the following May if wrongs had not been redressed. This is followed by two addresses, one to the people of Great Britain and the other to the inhabitants of the colonies, justifying the conduct of the Congress. These actions laid the basis for American resistance and organized rebellion which escalated into open warfare in the spring of 1775. Needless to say, the actions of the Continental Congress were of the greatest interest in the colonies, and these Extracts... were published first in Philadelphia while Congress was still sitting. The Bradfords printed multiple editions in October, the first with the date of October 24th in the imprint line, and two others with "October 27th" in the same spot. The copy in hand is one of the latter issues. Printings followed in Albany, Annapolis, Boston, Hartford, Lancaster, New London, New York, Newport, Norwich, and Providence, all in 1774. HOWES E247. EVANS 13715. NAIP w032261. SABIN 15528. $16,500. Cotton’s Principles 34. Cotton, John: THE WAY OF THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN NEW ENGLAND. London: Mathew Simmons, 1645. [7],116,[3]pp., including the 2 leaves of the "Table" at the end, usually lacking. Antique calf in the style of the 17th century. Contemporary inscription on the verso of the final printed leaf, "Weak Christians to be received, p. 58," with the particular passage on p.58 marked in the margin. A very good copy. An important work in the foundation of New England, this is the most widely read of Cotton’s works, giving a full account of the theory and methods of Congregationalism as practiced in New England at that time. This is the first issue of the first edition as described in European Americana and the John Carter Brown catalogue. SABIN 17090. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 645/43. JCB (3)II:329-30. TUTTLE (COTTON) 38. WING C6471. $3250. Vital Work on the Early South 35. Coxe, Daniel: A DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGLISH PROVINCE OF CAROLANA. BY THE SPANIARDS CALL’D FLORIDA, AND BY THE FRENCH, LA LOUISIANE. AND ALSO OF THE GREAT AND FAMOUS RIVER MESCHACEBE, OR MISSISIPI, THE FIVE VAST NAVIGABLE LAKES OF FRESH WATER, AND THE PARTS ADJACENT. TOGETHER WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE COMMODITIES OF THE GROWTH AND PRODUCTION OF THE SAID PROVINCE. AND A PREFACE CONTAINING SOME CONSIDERATIONS ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FRENCH MAKING SETTLEMENTS THERE. London: Printed for A. Bettesworth, 1726. [54],122pp. plus folding map. Modern polished calf, ruled in gilt, spine richly gilt, leather label, raised bands, a.e.g. Corners bumped. 18th-century ownership signature on titlepage. Map backed on linen. Very good. The second edition of this important text, one of the first English works to extensively describe the Southeast. The same sheets were used as in the 1722 first edition, but a new titlepage was added to make it seem more current to a contemporary audience. Coxe, who claimed grants to much of the South, sought to arouse British concern over French incursions and did not limit himself to the Carolinas, discussing the lower Mississippi in detail as well. Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana are also described. The large folding map, which is often lacking, was drawn up by the Coxe family to further their land claims. It shows most of the South, including Florida, but also includes northern regions as far as the Great Lakes. The elder Daniel Coxe was physician to Charles II and Queen Anne. His son, who claimed to have resided in the Carolinas for fourteen years, inherited his claims to grants and attempted to further them with this publication, which went through numerous later editions. Much of the information, gathered from British hunters and explorers, is published here for the first time. The work is also credited with being the first published proposal of a political confederation of the North American colonies, and as the first English account of Louisiana. All editions are rare, especially those with the map. HOWES C826, "b." SABIN 17279 (1st ed). EUROPEAN AMERICANA 726/52. JCB (1)III:372. CLARK I:68. VAIL 350. CHURCH 886 (1st ed). $20,000. 36. Crespel, Emanuel: VOYAGE AU NOUVEAU-MONDE, ET HISTOIRE INTERESSANTE DU NAUFRAGE DU R.P. CRESPEL. AVEC DES NOTES HISTORIQUES & GÉOGRAPHIQUES. Amsterdam. 1757. x,240pp. Final few pages erroneously numbered. Half antique calf and marbled boards, spine gilt, leather label, raised bands. Titlepage a bit tanned, else a clean, handsome copy. Very good. A later edition, enlarged by the author’s brother, after the first two editions of 1742 and 1752. Father Crespel was a Recollection missionary who went to Canada in 1724 and was for a time a priest near Montreal. Later he was stationed for three years at Fort Niagara, for two years at Cataracoui, then Kingston, and finally at Fort St. Frederick on Lake Champlain. While returning to France in 1736 he was shipwrecked, and after a harrowing winter on an island in the St. Lawrence, finally reached home in 1738. In 1728, while in Upper Canada, he accompanied an expedition of four hundred French troops and eight hundred Indians from Lake Huron into Lake Michigan, to raid the Fox Indians in present-day Wisconsin because the tribe was interfering with French trade and communication on Lake Michigan. This work provides the only account of that expedition. For this account, and other observations on the French presence on the Great Lakes during that period, both Howes and Streeter call this "an important supplement to the narratives of Sagard and LeClerc." HOWES C880, "aa." TPL 6442. SABIN 17477. STREETER SALE 122 (1742 ed). $1250. 37. Cullen, William: LECTURES ON THE MATERIA MEDICA... NOW PUBLISHED BY PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR, AND WITH MANY CORRECTIONS FROM THE COLLATION OF DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPTS BY THE EDITORS. Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1775. viii,512pp. With eleven dried botanical specimens laid in. Quarto. Contemporary calf boards, rebacked in modern calf, spine gilt. Boards rubbed and edgeworn. Evenly age-toned. About very good. This copy is notable for having an interesting provenance, including having been owned by two early American physicians. The earliest ownership was likely that of Dr. Elijah Dix (1747-1809) of Worcester, Massachusetts, the grandfather of reformer Dorothea Dix. Dix sold this copy on July 10, 1780 to Absalom Russell, who has made a note on the front free endpaper that he bought the book from Dix for £3 "hard money." Russell has also signed his name on the titlepage and preface page. The book was later given by Russell to Dr. Samuel Frink (1764-1819), indicated by a note on the front free endpaper dated 1790. Frink has signed the book on the rear free endpaper. Frink later passed the book on to one Seth Chandler, as described by another contemporary note, dated 1811 (Chandler has signed the rear endpapers). The front pastedown of this copy also bears extensive early manuscript notes describing the contents. First American printing of this popular and influential treatise on therapeutic treatments. Cullen’s work is an encyclopedic examination of natural materials, their traits and qualities, and their potential curative properties for various diseases and infirmities. William Cullen (1710-90), a physician, surgeon, and professor at the University of Edinburgh, was one of the most notable physicians of his time. "His careful preparation, his graphic descriptions of disease, and his candour, simplicity of thought, and comprehensiveness of view, soon made his clinical lectures renowned, especially as he delivered them in English instead of Latin. He lectured largely on diseases of the most common types as being most useful to students. His prescriptions were markedly simple, and he experimentally used and introduced many new drugs of great value, such as cream of tartar, henbane, James’s powder, and tartar emetic" – DNB. An unauthorized edition of this work was first printed in London in 1771, followed by an authorized edition in 1773. The corrections included as an appendix in the London 1773 edition have been incorporated into the text in this American edition. An important work, here in its scarce first American edition, and with samples laid in and a significant line of early provenance. NAIP w013399. EVANS 14000. AUSTIN 577. HILDEBURN 3188. GUERRA A567. DNB V, pp.279-82. $1750. 38. Davis, James: AN ASTRONOMICAL DIARY: OR, AN ALMANACK FOR THE YEAR OF OUR LORD CHRIST, 1755 ...CALCULATED FOR THE MERIDIAN OF NEW-LONDON, NEW ENGLAND, LAT. OF 41 DEG. NORTH. New London: T. & J. Green, 1755 [i.e. 1754]. [16]pp. Later stitching. Titlepage and last page heavily soiled. Small repair to titlepage (no loss). Contemporary inscriptions in lower margin of twelve pages. A good copy. A rare mid-18th-century New England almanac by James Davis, who issued a series of almanacs published in New London and Boston between 1755 and 1758. In addition to the calendar year, this Astronomical Diary includes predictions for the year’s eclipses and a two-page poem concerning astronomy and celestial bodies. The verses begin: "Ye Muse, my wandring thought unite, and give my mind some ideas clear, respecting those bright globes of light, which to my view so oft appear." A rare surviving New England almanac; NAIP and Drake record only copies of this 1755 almanac at the AAS and NYPL, noting that the latter is imperfect. EVANS 7180. DRAKE 203. TRUMBULL (SUPPLEMENT) 1828. NAIP w025665. $1500. One of the Earliest American 39. Deigendesch, Johannes: NACHRICHTERS: ODER NUTZLICHES UND AUFRICHTIGES ROSS-ARTZNENBÜCHLEIN.... Germantown: Reprinted by Christopher Saur, 1771. 209, 19pp. 12mo. Contemporary sheep, rebacked in calf at an early date, metal clasp. Worn at extremities, spine ends chipped. Age-toned, some light marginal staining. A good copy. Second Germantown edition published by Saur, after the first of 1770. An early American veterinary imprint, primarily concerning horses and livestock. The work was first published in Freiburg in 1716. Only the 1764 Wilmington edition of Markham’s publication on horses precedes this work in American equestrian imprints. EVANS 12026. AUSTIN 642. $2000. 40. Dickenson, Jonathan: GOD’S PROTECTING PROVIDENCE... EVIDENCED IN THE REMARKABLE DELIVERANCE OF ROBERT BARROW...FROM THE CRUEL DEVOURING JAWS OF THE INHUMAN CANNIBALS OF FLORIDA. London: Luke Hinde, 1759. [14],126pp. plus [4]pp. of advertisements. 12mo. Contemporary paneled calf, hinges and spine expertly repaired, new endpapers. Internally very clean. Very good. Self-styled fourth edition, first printed in Philadelphia in 1699. "The author was a Quaker merchant who, with his wife and young son, together with Robert Barrow, a Quaker missionary, and others aboard the ship Reformation, were cast ashore in August, 1696, during a trip from Port Royal to Philadelphia. The party was seized by Indians near Jupiter Island, robbed of their possessions, but allowed to make their way on foot to St. Augustine, 200 miles distant. They were befriended by the Spaniards who sent them on their way to Charleston" – Servies. All early editions of this narrative are rare. VAIL 531. SABIN 20015. AYER 67. SERVIES 413. CLARK I:73. HOWES D317. VAUGHAN 91. Another edition: HUNTRESS 28C. STREETER SALE 1176. FIELD 427. $1750. 41. Dickinson, John: A REPLY TO A PIECE CALLED THE SPEECH OF JOSEPH GALLOWAY, ESQ. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by William Bradford, 1764. iii,45,[1],xiii pp. Dbd. Small closed tear in foredge of titlepage. Evenly age-toned. Four appendix leaves with a closed vertical tear, but no loss of text. Upper outer portion of final appendix leaf torn away, costing approximately seventy words. A good copy. In a half morocco and cloth box. With the contemporary ownership signature of Philip Kinsey on the titlepage. Dickinson’s speech against the controversial effort to replace the proprietary government of Pennsylvania with a royal governor. Galloway, a protégé of Franklin, spearheaded the effort to replace the colony’s system of administration. Galloway and Dickinson each made several speeches which were separately printed at the time, in the colonies and in England. This first printing of Dickinson’s speech is scarce. HOWES D333, "aa." SABIN 20051. EVANS 9640. NAIP w021810. AMERICAN CONTROVERSY 64-4a. HILDEBURN 1977. $6000. The Future Governor of Virginia 42. [Dinwiddie, Robert]: [MANUSCRIPT BRITISH ROYAL COMMISSION ON VELLUM APPOINTING ROBERT DINWIDDIE AS INSPECTOR GENERAL OF CUSTOMS FOR THE COLONIES OF BARBADOS AND THE LEEWARD ISLANDS]. London. March 29, 1739. Original manuscript document on vellum, 13¾ x 16¾ inches. Embossed paper seal of the British Customs Commissioners Office affixed to the left margin on the recto; and three small, blue, paper tax stamps (totaling 18 pence) affixed to the upper margin on the recto. Small paper seal of King George II affixed to the verso. Old folds. Lightly soiled. Very good. Matted. This manuscript British royal commission appoints Robert Dinwiddie to the position of inspector general of Customs for the Colonies of Barbados and the Leeward Islands. It was issued near the beginning of a long career as a colonial administrator that saw Dinwiddie ardently root out financial corruption in the British colonies in the Caribbean, and would eventually culminate in Dinwiddie’s appointment as lieutenant governor of Virginia. As Virginia’s acting governor he would play a crucial role on the colonial frontier in the early years of the French and Indian War. Dinwiddie came from a family of traders and merchants, and in 1727 he was made collector of customs for Bermuda. In 1738 his purview was expanded, and he was appointed surveyor-general of the Royal Customs for the Southern Part of America, which included the Bahamas, Jamaica, and the American colonies from Pennsylvania southward. The present commission was issued just a year later, and appoints Dinwiddie as inspector general of duties for Barbados and the Leeward Islands, including investigating the "Dutys of Four and a half percent payable to His Majesty." Dinwiddie had uncovered customs frauds in Barbados and the Leeward Islands in 1738, and this commission officially invests him with powers "for examining into the behavior and conduct of the Surveyor General, the Collectors, the Comptrollers, Searchers, and all other officers, clerks and persons appointed or employ’d in the managing charging or collecting the said Dutys according to such orders and instructions as we have already or shall hereafter give to the said Dinwiddie for that purpose." In this office he would charge several customs officials, including Edward Lascelles, with false entries, fraudulent sales, and corruption, and dismiss them from office. Dinwiddie was praised and criticized for his activities in Barbados, and the royal customs commissioners later characterized his work as proceeding with "more zeal than prudence" (see ANB). Dinwiddie’s greatest fame in the American colonies came with his appointment as lieutenant governor (and de facto acting governor) of Virginia. In 1753 he sent George Washington to push French commissioners south of the Great Lakes to abdicate lands claimed by Virginia. Dinwiddie’s demand and the French rejection of it was one of the precipitating factors in the French and Indian War, and he was a significant early patron of George Washington’s military career. The present customs appointment is signed in manuscript by Lord Thomas Fairfax (1693-1781), proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia, as well as three of his colleagues in the Customs Commissioners Office, including John Evelyn, R. Corbet, and one other. Descended by his mother of the Culpeper family, which had for generations been intimately involved with Virginia affairs, Fairfax played an active role in the colony’s frontier development, first venturing there in 1735 and then permanently residing in Virginia from 1747 until his death in 1781. In 1754, at the request of Gov. Dinwiddie, Fairfax assumed duties as a lieutenant in Virginia’s frontier militia. The DAB says of Dinwiddie: "His career as colonial administrator was marked by vision, strength, attention to detail, and untiring energy. As the man who precipitated the struggle which brought about the downfall of New France, he is a figure of first importance in the early history of the American continent." Dinwiddie: DAB V, pp.316-17. ANB 6, pp.620-21. $2850. 43. Douglass, William: A SUMMARY, HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL, OF THE FIRST PLANTING, PROGRESSIVE IMPROVEMENTS, AND PRESENT STATE OF THE BRITISH SETTLEMENTS IN NORTH AMERICA.... London. 1760. Two volumes. 568, viii pp. (with the note from the author to the reader bound in toward the end); [2],iv,416pp. Contemporary calf, rebacked in matching style, gilt morocco labels. Corners restored. Early ownership signature of Thomas Ogden on titlepage of each volume, copious early manuscript notes on front free endpapers. Very good. The Samuel Latham Mitchill Barlow copy, with his bookplate on both front pastedowns. The second British edition. "First American history of the whole country" – Howes. Wroth comments: "Modern critics of the Summary have overlooked the fact that its author was the first to attempt this story from the viewpoint of a resident American...." Various contemporaries recognized it for bringing together more facts on the American colonies and their history than any previous publication, John Huske commenting that it was "the best collection of facts in general, for a future historian, that was ever made or published." "The work is authentic and valuable, and should find its place in every American library" – Sabin. Some copies contain a folding map, not present in this copy. HOWES D436. WROTH AMERICAN BOOKSHELF, pp.87-91 (ref). CLARK I:226. SABIN 20728. $2000. 44. Downing, George: A DISCOURSE WRITTEN BY...THE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN’S ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY TO THE STATES OF THE UNITED PROVINCES. VINDICATING HIS ROYAL MASTER FROM THE INSOLENCIES OF A SCANDALOUS LIBEL...WHEREUNTO IS ADDED A RELATION OF SOME FORMER AND LATER PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOLLANDERS: BY A MEANER HAND. London: Printed for John Luttone, 1672. 31,139,[4]pp. 16mo. Later three-quarter calf and marbled boards, leather label. Some minor dampstaining along upper edge of final forty pages. Trimmed a bit close but not costing any text, and tightly bound, making it difficult to discern an occasional letter in the gutter. Overall, still very good. The second edition, with additions, after the first edition of 1664, with important information on Dutch possessions in North America, especially New York. This is one of three "issues" of this book which appeared in 1672. More properly, at least two of these "issues" are actually different printings; this copy, with the Luttone imprint (JCB issue "A") is paginated differently than the issue "B," and the signatures are signed differently. Downing was Winthrop’s nephew and a Harvard graduate. He published a number of works relevant to the activities of the Dutch West India Company, and to events in the New Netherlands, including this rebuttal to a pamphlet entitled An Extract of the Regicter [sic] of the States General of the United Provinces (1664). The text of that work is reprinted herein, with some additions, all toward the end of propagandizing for the new Dutch War. "This book contains important information regarding New Netherland and the rights of the Dutch to their possessions in America" – Church catalogue. The "meaner hand" is suggested to be Robert Clavell. SABIN 20779. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 672/85. JCB III, p.236. CHURCH 617. $2750. Important Exploration 45. [Drage, Theodore, (or) Charles Swaine]: AN ACCOUNT OF A VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BY HUDSON’S STREIGHTS, TO THE WESTERN AND SOUTHERN OCEAN OF AMERICA. PERFORMED IN THE YEAR 1746 AND 1747, IN THE SHIP CALIFORNIA.... London: Sold by Mr. Joliffe [and others], 1748-1749. Two volumes. [2],vii, [1],237; [2],342,[18]pp. plus four engraved plates and six folding engraved maps. Contemporary speckled calf, ruled in gilt, gilt morocco labels, raised bands. Hinges a bit weak, minor shelf wear. Bookplate of Scotland’s Cullen House on front pastedown of each volume, modern private bookplate on rear pastedown of each volume. Three of the maps with repaired tears, repaired tear in first preface leaf, else quite clean and fresh internally. Overall, a very good set. Provenance: The Earls of Findlater and Seafield (Cullen House, Cullen, Morayshire, Scotland, Cullen House Library armorial bookplates). An important narrative of an exploratory expedition in Hudson Bay in search of a northwest passage, dispatched by the North West Committee in 1746 as part of an attempt to verify the assertions of Arthur Dobbs and Christopher Middleton in the quest for a passage. The two ships of the expedition examined Wager Bay and overwintered at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s York Factory. "...A significant item in the literature relating to attempts at finding the Northwest Passage...it tells of a voyage undertaken to sustain Arthur Dobbs’ claim that a northwest passage existed leading from Hudson’s Bay" – Streeter. The outcome was to prove the opposite. Among the illustrations is a plate of an Indian in a kayak, and another shows an Indian tent and equipment. TPL and Sabin call for only five maps, though the present copy has six, as have other copies we have seen. While in the collections of a few prominent institutions, it is a rare work on the market, seldom met with. SABIN 20808. TPL 206. STREETER SALE 3640. JCB (3)I:872. $45,000. Sewall Family Copy 46. Dummer, Jeremiah: A DEFENCE OF THE NEW-ENGLAND CHARTERS. London: Printed by W. Wilkins..., 1721. 80pp. Woodcut decorations and letters. Modern red morocco, spine gilt. Title-leaf and following two leaves dampstained, light scattered foxing, but still a very good copy. This copy bears the contemporary ownership signature of Stephen Sewall on the titlepage. Sewall was clerk of the Salem witchcraft trial court and his brother, Chief Justice Samuel Sewall, sat at the Salem witchcraft trials. First edition of this "notable contribution to colonial political thought, voicing the theory that, by reason of their contractual nature, these charters could not now, after the colonists had fulfilled their obligation by redeeming the wilderness, be abrogated and government restored to the Crown" (Howes). This and later editions of 1745 and 1765 no doubt provided fuel for the fire then well kindled. HOWES D554, "b." SABIN 21197. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 721/63. COHEN 6521 (Boston ed). $7500. 47. Edwards, Jonathan: A TREATISE CONCERNING RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS, IN THREE PARTS.... Boston: S. Kneeland and T. Green, 1746. [2],vi,343,[9]pp. including bookseller’s advertisement at bottom of final printed page. Contemporary calf, spine and boards gilt. Spine and boards moderately worn, outer joints tender with some cracking, small loss of leather at top and bottom of spine and joint. Lacks front free endpaper. Internally clean and fresh, with a few scattered instances of light foxing. A very good copy. First edition of one of the most important theological works by Edwards, perhaps the most important American philosopher of the 18th century. Four additional editions were published in New York, Elizabethtown, Philadelphia, and Boston before 1800. EVANS 5767. NAIP w029564. $1500. 48. Eliot, Jared: GOD’S MARVELLOUS KINDNESS, ILLUSTRATED IN A SERMON PREACH’D AT THE SOUTH SOCIETY IN KILLINGWORTH, ON THE GENERAL THANKSGIVING IN THE COLONY OF CONNECTICUT, JULY 25, 1745. OCCASIONED BY TAKING THE CITY OF LOUISBOURG ON THE ISLE OF CAPE-BRETON, BY NEW ENGLAND SOLDIERS, ASSISTED BY A BRITISH SQUADRON, JUNE 17, 1745. New London, T. Green, 1745. [6],26pp. Modern three-quarter pebbled cloth over marbled boards, spine gilt. First four leaves moderately soiled, occasional minor foxing, else clean. A good copy. A scarce Thanksgiving sermon by Jared Eliot celebrating the victory of New England and British soldiers over the French at the 1745 siege of Louisbourg, with various allusions to the circumstances of the notable victory. Delivered in his home town of Killingworth (now Clinton), Connecticut on July 25, 1745, the sermon was published the same year in New London. Eliot graduated from Yale College in 1706 and was ordained as pastor of the Congregational Church in Killingworth in 1709. He served in that position until his death in 1763. In addition to his religious role in the community, Eliot was actively involved in the natural sciences, medicine, and agriculture. "For more than forty years he never failed to preach at least once every Sunday, and was highly regarded in the colony as a minister and adviser in church matters. Without neglecting the duties of this office, he pursued his interest in natural science and achieved eminence in widely different fields...He bought considerable tracts of land, experimented wisely in their improvement, and embodied his results in an Essay on Field Husbandry in New England, published in six parts at intervals in the years from 1748 to 1759. These for a long time were the most widely read and prized agricultural essays in America. With President Ezra Stiles of Yale College, he introduced silk culture into the colony" – DAB. EVANS 5584. NAIP w012436. SABIN 22138. TRUMBULL 674. JOHNSON, NEW LONDON IMPRINTS 456. DAB VI, pp.78-79. ANB 7, pp.400-1. $950. 49. Eliot, Jared: A CONTINUATION OF THE ESSAY UPON FIELD-HUSBANDRY, AS IT IS, OR MAY BE ORDERED IN NEW-ENGLAND. New London: Timothy Green 1751. [2],32pp. 16mo. Modern blue cloth, gilt-lettered spine. Titlepage trimmed along top edge, touching the top of the first two words of the title. Hole (perhaps a paper flaw) in blank inner margin of the titlepage, not affecting text. Old dampstain throughout. Good. The rare third part of the landmark series of six essays on American agriculture by Jared Eliot. Though the title indicates that the text is limited to New England, Eliot discusses the state of "field husbandry" throughout the colonies, including New York and the South. The DAB emphasizes that for a long time these essays were "the most widely read and prized agricultural essays in America." This third essay contains much on the growing of grains, including wheat, barley, oats, and millet, as well as "Indian corn," and also discusses the need to drain swampland in order to reclaim it for crops. Through his agricultural essays Eliot helped to introduce the concept of soil conservation in the British colonies, and was largely responsible for introducing the silk industry to colonial America. Over the course of the six essays Eliot dismisses the opinion of some in Great Britain that the colonies are of little use. Eliot argues that as the colonial population increases, the number and quality of goods the colonies are able to send to Great Britain will also increase. But more importantly, the demand for British goods will likewise rise, giving Great Britain the double benefit of a greater supply network and a larger market. Eliot is also remembered fondly in New Haven for establishing Yale’s first endowed fund to buy books, a legacy which funds purchases to this day. EVANS 6666. NAIP w037582. JOHNSON, NEW LONDON IMPRINTS 534. RINK 1084. ANB 7, pp.400-1. DAB VI, pp.78-79. $2750. 50. Eliot, Jared: A CONTINUATION OF THE ESSAY UPON FIELD-HUSBANDRY, AS IT IS, OR MAY BE ORDERED IN NEW-ENGLAND...THE FIFTH PART. New York: J. Parker and W. Weyman, 1754. 44pp. 16mo. Modern blue cloth, gilt-lettered spine. Approximately one-quarter of the titlepage in facsimile, including "A Continu" at the start of the title, half of the letters "E" and "S" in the word "Essay," and most of the imprint information. A few of the text leaves torn at the corners, but with no loss of text. Good. The rare fifth part of the landmark series of six essays on American agriculture by Jared Eliot. Though the title indicates that the text is limited to New England, Eliot discusses the state of "field husbandry" throughout the colonies, including New York and the South. The DAB emphasizes that for a long time these essays were "the most widely read and prized agricultural essays in America." In this fifth essay, Eliot considers the prescriptions of British agriculturist Jethro Tull, especially his thoughts on fertilization and how those ideas may be applied in North America. Eliot discusses the advantages of deep plowing and tilling, and advocates tools for those purposes that are more simple than those promoted by Tull. Through his agricultural essays Eliot helped to introduce the concept of soil conservation in the British colonies, and was largely responsible for introducing the silk industry to colonial America. Over the course of the six essays Eliot dismisses the opinion of some in Great Britain that the colonies are of little use. He argues that as the colonial population increases, the number and quality of goods the colonies are able to send to Great Britain will also increase. But more importantly, the demand for British goods will likewise rise, giving Great Britain the double benefit of a greater supply network and a larger market. Eliot is also remembered fondly in New Haven for establishing Yale’s first endowed fund to buy books, a legacy which funds purchases to this day. All of Eliot’s essays on field-husbandry are rare – NAIP and Rink combined locate only six copies of this fifth essay. EVANS 7191. NAIP w024069. RINK 1086. ANB 7, pp.400-1. DAB VI, pp.78-79. $2500. 51. Ellis, Henry: A VOYAGE TO HUDSON’S-BAY, BY THE DOBBS GALLEY AND CALIFORNIA, IN THE YEARS 1746 AND 1747, FOR DISCOVERING A NORTH WEST PASSAGE; WITH AN ACCURATE SURVEY OF THE COAST, AND A SHORT NATURAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY. TOGETHER WITH A FAIR VIEW OF THE FACTS AND ARGUMENTS FROM WHICH THE FUTURE FINDING OF SUCH A PASSAGE IS RENDERED PROBABLE. Dublin. 1749. xvi,152pp. plus map. Contemporary calf, later gilt-stamped spine, blind decorative tooling on edges. Map neatly handcolored. Neat armorial bookplate on front pastedown, contemporary notations on verso of front free endpaper. Very good. Later Dublin edition, after the first and second London editions. "The first part contains a synopsis of twenty-three English voyages to discover the Northwest Passage, a history of the rise of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and the discovery attempted from New England. The second part gives an account of a voyage under Captains Moor and Francis Smith, financed by private subscription, with Arthur Dobbs the leading subscriber. Ellis, also a subscriber, was hydrographer, surveyor, and mineralogist on the expedition, which proved, finally, the nonexistence of a Northwest Passage from Hudson Bay. The voyage led to a rapid decline of British interest in the search for a Northwest Passage, which was not revived until 1816. The work includes many valuable observations on tides, on the vagaries of the compass, and on the customs of the Eskimos, people then practically unknown" – Hill. SABIN 22312. HILL 540 (ref). EUROPEAN AMERICANA 749/95. $1250. 52. Entick, John: THE GENERAL HISTORY OF THE LATE WAR: CONTAINING IT’S [sic] RISE, PROGRESS, AND EVENT, IN EUROPE, ASIA, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. London. 1763-1764. Five volumes. [4],495,[2]; 464; 480; 469,[27]pp. plus eight maps and forty (of forty-one) portraits. Lacking the portrait of Lord Bute, but supplemented by the addition of a portrait of Lord Anson, two naval plates, and a map. Contemporary three-quarter calf and marbled boards, gilt labels. Calf dry and chipping; boards generally worn, especially at the spines. Clean internally, and overall in very good condition. A survey history of the French and Indian War, with considerable material on the war in North America. A long and detailed work, with extracts from original source material and journals of the time. Includes many excellent engraved portraits of military leaders and folding maps of the British North American colonies, the West Indies, etc. HOWES E165a, "aa." SABIN 22667. $3500. With a Series of Colonial Engraved Maps, 53. [Evans, Lewis, et al]: A BILL IN THE CHANCERY OF NEW-JERSEY, AT THE SUIT OF JOHN EARL OF STAIR, AND OTHERS, PROPRIETORS OF THE EASTERN-DIVISION OF NEW-JERSEY; AGAINST BENJAMIN BOND, AND SOME OTHER PERSONS OF ELIZABETH-TOWN, DISTINGUISHED BY THE NAME OF THE CLINKER LOT RIGHT MEN. WITH THREE LARGE MAPS, DONE FROM COPPER-PLATES.... New York: James Parker, 1747. 124,11,[1],13-24,[1],25-39pp. plus three folding maps. Folio. Late 19th-century polished calf, spine and boards gilt, leather label. Heraldic bookplate on front pastedown, contemporary ownership inscription of Hendrick Remsen on front fly leaf. Occasional minor stains. Bound at the end is the March 7, 1747-48 issue of The New-York Gazette (No. 268). A very good copy. This highly important work is of interest for a number of reasons: its primary author, James Alexander, achieved great fame as the lawyer of Peter Zenger; it contains some of the first maps engraved in America; it was seen through the press by Benjamin Franklin and his New York partner, James Parker; and it is a vital document in settling the long-standing land disputes of colonial New Jersey. Streeter calls it "one of the most remarkable documents of colonial times." The land disputes dealt with in this document had their origins in overlapping Crown grants made by Charles II, which came to a head in arguments over quitrents and surveys in the 1720s. James Alexander, who had been surveyor-general of New Jersey before becoming a lawyer and winning fame as the successful defender of Zenger, undertook on behalf of the Board of Proprietors of the Eastern Division of New Jersey to assemble the evidence for a Bill in Chancery to settle the matter. He assembled the material published here in the 1740s, arguing the proprietors’ case with "great subtlety and complexity," according to Streeter. Alexander consulted Benjamin Franklin concerning publication, and the printing work of the letterpress was executed by James Parker of New York, a partner of Franklin. However, Franklin advised that proper map engraving could not be accomplished in Philadelphia or New York, and work on the three maps was farmed out to James Turner of Boston. The now-famed cartographer, Lewis Evans, drew the maps, the first showing North America from Cape Hatteras to Boston; the second showing early survey and boundary lines, Indian paths, and major roads; and the third showing surveys and purchases in East New Jersey. The maps were available to purchasers in both colored and uncolored format. Those present here are in the uncolored state. These are some of the earliest maps drawn and engraved in the colonies, and as such are of tremendous importance. Additional information on the history of A Bill in the Chancery... can be found in Joseph Felcone’s bibliography, cited below. EVANS 6021. MILLER 426. STREETER SALE 918. CHURCH 961. SABIN 5378. COHEN 11664. DAB I, pp.167-68. FELCONE, NEW JERSEY BOOKS 21. WHEAT & BRUN 294, 397, 398. $45,000. 54. Evitt, William: THE GENTLEMAN AND CITIZEN’S POCKET-ALMANAC, BY WILLIAM EVITT, PRINTER. FOR THE YEAR 1772. FITTED TO THE USE OF PENNSYLVANIA AND THE NEIGHBORING PROVINCES. CONTAINING A MUCH GREATER VARIETY OF CURIOUS AND USEFUL LISTS, TABLES, &c. &c. THAN ANY OTHER ALMANACK, PRINTED ON THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. Philadelphia: William Evitt, [1771]. [48]pp. plus fourteen unprinted leaves. 24mo. Contemporary marbled wrappers. Wrappers lightly worn. One contemporary manuscript inscription on one unprinted leaf, a few manuscript annotations in margins of printed pages. Light age-toning, offsetting on blank leaves. A near fine copy. An extremely rare colonial-era Pennsylvania almanac compiled and published by William Evitt. Drake records copies at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the American Antiquarian Society, but the AAS does not list this edition in their online catalogue. AAS/NAIP records the ten previous annual issues of this almanac, but not this edition, perhaps the last published with this title. However, AAS does hold a copy lacking the last leaf. This copy is in contemporary wrappers and has fourteen additional blank leaves, only one of which has a single inscription ("Thursday 10th [December] came Nancy"). A few contemporary annotations, however, are found in the margins of the printed text. In addition to the calendar, the almanac provides an extensive list of the "representatives, sheriffs, coroners, commissioners, and assessors throughout the province of Pennsylvania." Information on court sessions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Virginia is also included. A rare surviving copy of perhaps the last issue of this popular Pennsylvania almanac. Not on OCLC or RLIN (which lists only a micro-format copy), nor in NAIP; listed in Evans (the imperfect AAS copy). DRAKE 9958. EVANS 12039. HILDEBURN 2651. $2750. 55. [Fitch, Thomas]: REASONS WHY THE BRITISH COLONIES IN AMERICA, SHOULD NOT BE CHARGED WITH INTERNAL TAXES, BY AUTHORITY OF PARLIAMENT; HUMBLY OFFERED, FOR CONSIDERATION, IN BEHALF OF THE COLONY OF CONNECTICUT. New Haven: Printed by B. Mecom, 1764. 39pp., lacks pp.7-8, replaced with a blank leaf. Later 19th-century maroon pebbled morocco, gilt-stamped spine. Slight rubbing to extremities, bookplate to front pastedown, occasional foxing. With the bookplate and duplicate release stamp of the JCB Library. Pp.7-8 in facsimile, else very good. This pamphlet, by the governor of Connecticut, is among the earliest printed protests against the Stamp Act, and thus one of the opening guns in the American Revolution. The pamphlet was the first to put forward the argument that Connecticut could not be taxed by Parliament because it was not represented there, suggesting that duties on trade, or external matters, were the only places taxes could properly be applied. Despite his opposition to the Act, Fitch took the oath to carry it out, and as a result was voted out of office at the next election. An important and rare early work in the development of American independence. HOWES F158, "b." SABIN 24588. AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 3. EVANS 9658. ANB 8, pp.42-43. $1000. With a Handsome Map of the Island 56. [Fowler, John]: A SUMMARY ACCOUNT OF THE PRESENT FLOURISHING STATE OF THE RESPECTABLE COLONY OF TOBAGO, IN THE BRITISH WEST INDIES. ILLUSTRATED WITH A MAP OF THE ISLAND AND A PLAN OF ITS SETTLEMENTS. London. 1774. 80pp. plus colored folding map. Half title. Antique-style three-quarter calf and marbled boards. Map neatly backed. Scattered foxing. Else very good. An early Caribbean promotion work for the British possession of Tobago, an important sugar colony, of which England gained control in the French and Indian War. The attractive and well-executed map of the island shows subdivisions and available lots, as well as the bays and rivers. "Contains a list of land sales from 1766, giving the acreage, the price per acre paid, and the names of the original purchasers and of the then proprietors. Also a list of officials and directions for entering the several harbors" – Ragatz. In addition there is a brief history of the island and a description of its climate. OCLC locates eight copies. RAGATZ, p.224. SABIN 25309. OCLC 4102187. $3750. 57. Foxcroft, Thomas: OBSERVATIONS HISTORICAL AND PRACTICAL ON THE RISE AND PRIMITIVE STATE OF NEW-ENGLAND. WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE OLD AND FIRST GATHER’D CHURCH IN BOSTON. Boston: Printed by S. Kneeland and T. Green, for S. Gerrish in Cornhill, 1730. [6], 46pp. Modern half morocco and cloth, spine gilt. Titlepage lightly soiled. Very good. First and only edition of this "valuable tract, compiled from original sources" (Sabin). Foxcroft, a prominent Boston minister, reviews the history of a century of Puritan New England, their religious mission, and the example the forefathers set for his own flock. Called "very scarce" in the Brinley sale catalogue. EVANS 3280. HOWES F309, "aa." SABIN 25399. BRINLEY SALE 1588. $2000. 58. Franklin, Benjamin: EXPERIENCES ET OBSERVATIONS SUR ELECTRICITE FAITES A PHILADELPHIA EN AMERIQUE .... Paris. 1752. 24,lxx,[10],222,[2],[30]pp. plus folding plate. 16mo. Contemporary French calf, spine gilt. Minor rubbing to front joint, else a fine copy. The first French edition of Franklin’s famous work on electricity, a translation of the first part of his English publications on his experiments, originally published in London the previous year. This was the first edition issued in a foreign language, and the foundation of Franklin’s fame in France, where a quarter century later he was greeted as the great sage of the New World. HOWES F320, "aa." FORD 80. $5000. Attributed to Franklin 59. [Franklin, Benjamin, and Richard Jackson]: AN HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA.... London. 1759. viii,[18],444pp. Contemporary gilt calf, rebacked in period style, spine gilt, gilt maroon morocco label. Slightly rubbed. Faintly toned. Contemporary ownership signature on titlepage. Very good. This book was for many years attributed to Benjamin Franklin, but it was more likely written by his co-agent in London, Richard Jackson, with Franklin’s advice. The work was essentially an argument made, in reviewing the history of the province, for the rights of the Assembly over the Proprietors. An important publication. HOWES P204. FORD 253. SABIN 25512. $1500. Poor Richard’s Almanac 60. [Franklin, Benjamin]: POOR RICHARD IMPROVED: BEING AN ALMANACK AND EPHEMERIS OR THE MOTIONS OF THE SUN AND MOON...FOR THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1761. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by B. Franklin, and D. Hall, [1760]. [36]pp. including several in-text woodcut vignettes. 12mo. Printed self-wrappers, stitched. Stab holes in margin, presumably from earlier binding. Edges worn and chipped, affecting some ruling and a few characters of text near upper margin and foredge; early tape repair to pp.[33/34]. Still, a very good copy. In a half morocco and cloth slipcase, raised bands, spine gilt. The first Poor Richard Almanack was printed in 1732. The early almanacs are extremely rare, and all from the period when Franklin himself was printing them are very rare in commerce, although there are many institutional holdings. This almanac for 1761 features a four-page essay on smallpox inoculation and two attractive cuts illustrating a solar eclipse. DRAKE 9832. EVANS 8732. MILLER 744. NAIP w036919. $20,000. A Previously Unrecorded 61. Franklin, Benjamin: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TO HIS FRIEND, THE ABBÉ MORELLET, DISCUSSING HIS GROWING CONCERN OVER THREATS TO AMERICAN LIBERTIES, HIS DISTRUST OF THE BRITISH, HIS AFFECTION FOR THE FRENCH, AND HIS THOUGHTS ON HOW ONE SHOULD CONDUCT HIMSELF IN BUSINESS]. London. May 7, 1773. [2]pp. manuscript letter on a single folio sheet. Folded in half horizontally to create four pages, the third page blank, and the fourth page addressed in Franklin’s hand and with remnant of a red wax seal. Old creases from folds for mailing. Torn in foredge of page 3/4, a result of the sheet having been folded and sealed with wax, with no loss of text. Closed four-inch split along one fold. Near fine. In a half morocco box. An absolutely fantastic Benjamin Franklin letter, in which Franklin demonstrates his growing wariness of British rule over the American colonies, his awareness of the need to protect American liberties, and his affection for the French and French culture. Writing to his friend, André Morellet, Franklin exhibits the charm and wit for which he is famous, peppering the letter with "Poor Richard" style aphorisms and offering wisdom on matters political and personal. This letter is a fine example of Franklin’s growing belief in the years immediately before the Revolution that American liberties were at risk due to increasingly hostile British policies. "Abbé" Andre Morellet (1727-1819) was a French philosopher, writer, and political economist. In 1772, Morellet was sent to England on a commercial mission, and he first met Franklin that spring, at a party at Loakes, Lord Shelburne’s estate at High Wycombe. They remained friends for several years, exchanging a number of letters and corresponding on issues both great and small. The present letter was unknown to the editors of the Papers of Benjamin Franklin at Yale University, and predates their earliest letter from Franklin to Morellet by six years. It was written by Franklin when he was in London in his capacity as a colonial agent. Franklin composed this letter in the period between the Boston Massacre and the battles of Lexington and Concord, and his growing exasperation with British policies toward the American colonies is clearly felt, as is his affection for the French. Franklin writes Morellet: "I am glad your Residence among the English was agreeable to you. They have not been famous for Civility to Strangers. In that, as in many other good things, the French are their Masters. I hope in time they will be good Disciples. For my own part I was made so happy by the kindness of your Countrymen when first at Paris that I returned thither to visit them a second time, and have ever since felt a strong Inclination to spend more time with them. I call it Kindness. For tho’ it might be meer [sic] Civility, it was so like Kindness that I could not distinguish it. Perhaps being used to it, it may not have the same value among yourselves, or else I should think you must love one another the best of any People in the World." Franklin goes on to contrast his warm feelings for the French with his growing apprehension toward the British: "I thank you for your caution against that sommeil [i.e. sleep] that usually precedes slavery. We Americans are at present much awake and upon our Guard, and I think we shall long preserve our Liberties. The danger is greater here. Where People are generally virtuous, they will enjoy Liberty. Where they are no longer so, they do not deserve it." In a middle paragraph Franklin draws from his experiences as a printer and businessman, and as a keen observer of human nature, to offer advice on matters personal and commercial, conjuring elegant and appropriate aphorisms. He writes Morellet that he has heard that famed French writer and economist Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours has been forced to cease publication of his journal, Ephemerides du citoyen, due to financial difficulties. Franklin writes: "Such talents, with so good a heart, deserve better fortune. But the men who would make their way in the world, should perhaps with the Dove mix a little of the Serpent. With that benevolent Zeal to serve one’s Friends and all Mankind, there should be a little Mechancete [i.e. nastiness] now & then towards our and their enemies. He who is all Goodness will be admir’d, and lov’d, and neglected." Franklin touches on a number of other issues in the letter, rather more personal in nature. Characteristically, he has to apologize to Morellet for the delay in writing him, noting that this letter is in response to a letter he received the previous November. Franklin thanks Morellet for sending him a group of "elegant paste impressions," sends his compliments to Monsieur Trudaine, and sends Morellet the respects of the great British actor, David Garrick, who was also at the party at Shelburne’s estate where Franklin and Morellet first met in person. A fine Benjamin Franklin letter, in which he displays his growing frustration with the British and their policies, his awareness of the need to defend American liberties, and his growing affection for the French, whom Franklin would convince to come to the American cause during the Revolution. $75,000. |
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Papers
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