Political, Miscellaneous, and Philosophical Pieces: Arranged under the following Heads, and Distinguished by Initial Letters in each Leaf: [G. P.] General Politics; [A. B. T.] American Politics before the Troubles; [A. D. T.] American Politics during the Troubles; [P. P.] Provincial or Colony Politics; and [M. P.] Miscellaneous and Philosophical Pieces. Now first collected, With Explanatory Plates, Notes, and an Index to the Whole

London: J. Johnson, No. 72, St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1779. 4to. (9 1/16 x 6 5/8 inches). [2] [i-iii] iv-xi [1] 2-567 [7]. pp. 588. Engraved portrait frontispiece, 3 engraved plates (one folding), folding table of the reformed alphabet. With a manuscript transcript of a letter dated September 20, 1770, unsigned, "The Ephemera," to "my dear friend (Madame Brillon)," folded and laid-in. Fine contemporary full calf, skillfully rebacked, with gilt fillets on boards and gilt-patterning on board edges. Spine with five raised bands forming six compartments with red morocco lettering piece in second and gilt-tooled device in rest

Provenance: Bookplate of the English politician John Baker Holroyd, Lord Sheffield (1735-1821)

Extraordinarily rare large paper edition on special paper of the only collection of Benjamin Franklin's writing published during his lifetime with his knowledge and consent. With a contemporary manuscript copy of the letter referred to as "The Ephemera" from Franklin to Madame Brillon of Passy, a "very amiable lady possessed of a great talent for Musick."

The earliest collection of writing by Benjamin Franklin, the only Founding Father to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, and the US Constitution. This copy of Franklin's collected writing is in the significantly larger and more desirable quarto format; the edition commonly seen is the much smaller octavo. Edited by Franklin's friend Benjamin Vaughan, a British politician who later helped negotiate peace between their two nations. Much of Franklin's writing here relates to the American Revolution, including the transcript of Franklin's famous appearance before Parliament in 1766 in which he argued successfully for the repeal of the Stamp Act. Also present is the culmination of his sagacious Poor Richard advice, The Way to Wealth. Although the compilation is predominantly composed of political and social essays, it also includes his paper on the effectiveness of lightning rods. The collection is divided into the following sections: Preface by the Editor; the Table of Contents; Papers on Subjects of General Politics; Papers upon American Subjects Before the Troubles; Papers upon American Subjects During the Troubles; Papers on Subjects of Provincial Politics; Papers on Miscellaneous Subjects; Appendix Containing additional Papers proper for insertion in the foregoing work; Index; and a seven-page Addenda & Corrigenda, by Franklin himself. The letter is in an unknown contemporary hand and is marked in ink on the verso [Dr. Franklin original]. It is a transcription of Franklin's famous "The Ephemera" letter to Madame Brillon, of Passy, on September 20, 1778, about the brevity of life. Franklin described the context of the letter thusly: "The person to whom it was addressed is Madame Brillon, a Lady of most respectable Character and pleasing Conversation, Mistress of an amiable family in this Neighborhood, with which I spend an Evening twice in every Week. She has among other Elegant accomplishments that of an Excellent Musician, and with her Daughters who sing prettily, and some friends who play, She kindly entertains me and my Grandson with little Concerts, a Dish of Tea and a Game of Chess. I call this my Opera; for I rarely go to the Opera at Paris. The Moulin Joly is a little Island in the Seine about 2 Leagues from hence, Part of the Country Seat of another friend, where we visit every Summer and spend a Day in the pleasing Society of the ingenious learned and very polite Persons who inhabit it." As Barbara B. Oberg writes, Vaughn's anthology of Franklin's work is "important for its role in identifying and preserving Franklin's writings. Vaughan established Franklin as the author of a number of anonymous pieces, among them the article signed "Arator" on which Vaughan lavished such extensive annotation. While the editor had gathered the majority of items from printed sources, one-fifth came from manuscripts, some of which have subsequently disappeared. Thus, the edition is now the sole source for the Albany Papers, the "Plan for two Western Colonies in America," the fair copy of "Remarks on a Plan for Regulating Indian Affairs," Governor Pownall's undated letter with Franklin's remarks, Franklin's letters to Priestley of May 16, July 7, and October 3, 1775; Franklin's letter of November 28, 1768, to an unnamed correspondent, and the rules for the Junto. In addition, Vaughan may have had access to autograph versions of certain pieces for which nearly identical contemporary copies or incomplete autographs are the only versions surviving today. These include: Lord Howe's letter of June 20, 1776, Franklin's letter to Hartley of October 3, 1775, "Experiments on the utility of long pointed rods," and Franklin's remarks on Pownall's State of the Constitution of the Colonies. Finally, Vaughan was the first to publish an uncensored version of Wedderburn's scathing remarks at the Cockpit."

Adams 79-38a. ESTC T58635. Ford 342. Howes F330. Oberg 210-218. Sabin 25565.