Property from
THE COLLECTION OF COLONEL HENRY H. ROGERS
FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN, Signer (Pennsylvania). Autograph letter signed ("BFranklin"), to the London printer and publisher William Strahan, Philadelphia, 21 March 1752. 1 page, 8vo, 210 x 162mm. (8 1/4 x 6 1/2 in.), integral address leaf in Franklin's hand, faint mat burn from a previous frame, two small light stains, a clean tear along fold at right-hand margin, address leaf with strip of old paper tape at top edge.
Details
FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN, Signer (Pennsylvania). Autograph letter signed ("BFranklin"), to the London printer and publisher William Strahan, Philadelphia, 21 March 1752. 1 page, 8vo, 210 x 162mm. (8 1/4 x 6 1/2 in.), integral address leaf in Franklin's hand, faint mat burn from a previous frame, two small light stains, a clean tear along fold at right-hand margin, address leaf with strip of old paper tape at top edge.
FRANKLIN TO STRAHAN
Benjamin Franklin writes to the famous London printer, paying a bill and commenting on some book orders. "I wrote to you in the Winter via New York, for a few Books, and sent a [second] Bill of #30 Barbad[oe]s Currency... I hope it come[s] to hand time enough for you to meet with the Gent[lema]n and get the money. He is Capt. of a ship, and was to be found at the New England Coffee House, but probably may be gone before you receive this. They were mostly School Books, and I have mislaid the original List, so [I] cannot send a copy. The Books for the Trenton [New Jersey] Library arrived safe, and I believe gave Satisfaction. I want yet Vol[ume] 7 of the Universal History in blue covers, to compleat my Set. My Wife & Children join in sincerest Wishes of Happiness..." William Strahan (1715-1785) was a lifelong correspondent of Franklin's. "Strahan made his mark in the printing business, publishing Johnson's Dictionary, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, and Gibbons's Decline and Fall. David Hall, Franklin's partner in Philadelphia, had served as Strahan's apprentice... He stayed a loyal friend to Franklin through all the trials [the Revolution] ahead," (Wright, Franklin of Philadelphia, p. 125).
FRANKLIN TO STRAHAN
Benjamin Franklin writes to the famous London printer, paying a bill and commenting on some book orders. "I wrote to you in the Winter via New York, for a few Books, and sent a [second] Bill of #30 Barbad[oe]s Currency... I hope it come[s] to hand time enough for you to meet with the Gent[lema]n and get the money. He is Capt. of a ship, and was to be found at the New England Coffee House, but probably may be gone before you receive this. They were mostly School Books, and I have mislaid the original List, so [I] cannot send a copy. The Books for the Trenton [New Jersey] Library arrived safe, and I believe gave Satisfaction. I want yet Vol[ume] 7 of the Universal History in blue covers, to compleat my Set. My Wife & Children join in sincerest Wishes of Happiness..." William Strahan (1715-1785) was a lifelong correspondent of Franklin's. "Strahan made his mark in the printing business, publishing Johnson's Dictionary, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, and Gibbons's Decline and Fall. David Hall, Franklin's partner in Philadelphia, had served as Strahan's apprentice... He stayed a loyal friend to Franklin through all the trials [the Revolution] ahead," (Wright, Franklin of Philadelphia, p. 125).