8vo (222 x 140 mm). Engraved portrait frontispiece of Franklin, 3 engraved plates (one folding); folding letterpress table. (Marginal repair on U1r, the closed partially affecting letters, light spotting.) IN ORIGINAL DRAB BLUE BOARDS, UNCUT (spine panel perished, manuscript label laid, stains and soiling to covers, fore-corners worn, rear cover partially detached, front joint discretely reinforced); morocco-backed folding case. Provenance: Henry Fletcher (early ownership signature to title-page).

FIRST EDITION, THE ONLY COLLECTED LIFETIME EDITION OF FRANKLIN'S WRITINGS PUBLISHED WITH HIS PERMISSION.

“The only edition of Franklin’s writing (other than scientific) printed during his lifetime … done with Franklin’s knowledge and acknowledgment, and contains an 'errata' made by him for it" (Ford). Franklin's writings were published in London during the Revolution while he was serving as the American ambassador to France. The collection contains works on national and provincial politics, the Stamp Act, wealth, smuggling, spelling, lightning, weather and clouds, and the Aurora Borealis. ESTC T56601; Ford 342; Howes F-330; Revolutionary Hundred 56; Sabin 25565.