[FRANKLIN, Benjamin (1706-1790), printing]. WOLLASTON, William. The Religion of Nature Delineated. London: S. Palmer for B. Lintott, W. and J. Innys, J. Osborn, J. Batley, and T. Longman, 1725.

4to (243 x 188 mm). Engraved frontispiece, woodcut device on title-page, woodcut head-pieces and initials. (Some minor spotting and staining.) Contemporary black morocco gilt, sides with wide foliate gilt-tooled border surrounding blind-tooled cornerpieces and foliate design and central gilt lozenge, spine gilt (rebacked preserving original spine and endleaves, some minor rubbing).

Second Palmer edition of Wollaston's work TYPESET BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

Franklin was encouraged by the Governor of Pennsylvania, Sir William Keith, to go to London at the age over 19 to obtain printing equipment for a newspaper. In London in 1724, he found employment in London at Palmer's printing house. In his Memoirs, he wrote: “At Palmer’s I was employed in composing the second edition [the second Palmer printing, actually the third edition of the work] of Wollaston’s The Religion of Nature Delineated. Some of his reasonings not appearing to me well founded, I wrote a little metaphysical piece in which I made remarks on them. It was entitled ‘A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain.’ I inscribed it to my friend...[and] printed a small number.” Campbell, p 40; ESTC T138365; Ford 6.

[FRANKLIN, Benjamin (1706-1790), printing]. WOLLASTON, William. The Religion of Nature Delineated. London: S. Palmer for B. Lintott, W. and J. Innys, J. Osborn, J. Batley, and T. Longman, 1725.