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

Dublin, Ireland: P. Wogan, P. Byrne, J. Moore, and W. Jones, 1793. Frontispiece, vi, (2), 303 pages. The first printing of the Dublin edition, preceded in the same year only by the 2-volume first London edition--both preceding the first U. S. edition published in 1794. The Dublin edition is significant not only for its apparent scarcity but also for the frontispiece, an unusual mezzotint portrait of a younger Benjamin Franklin that appears in no other edition and has seldom (if ever) been reproduced. The clean and tight book has been sympathetically rebacked, retaining the original red leather title patch. All edges of the textblock were stained a pale green, perhaps when the rebacking was done--the staining intrudes 1/16" onto the top and bottom margins of the frontispiece.Very light and faint foxing throughout; occasional smudges in the margins.. Two large but light waterstains to the frontispiece but only minor and relatively unobtrusive intrusion into the image. Missing the front free endpaper. The book's condition is much nicer than it sounds; certainly an acceptable copy for the serious collector.. First Dublin Edition. Hardcover. Collectible-Very Good. Small 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall. Leather.