First American Edition of Franklin’s Autobiography
The Works of the Late Dr. Benjamin Franklin, consisting of his life written by himself, together with Essays, humorous, moral & literary, chiefly in the Manner of the Specatator.
Franklin, Benjamin.
New York: Printed by Tiebout & Obrian for H. Gain [and others], [1794].
Price:
$6,500.00
About the item
First American Edition. Engraved frontispiece portrait & engraved vol. 1 title, each by Peter Maverick. 174; [3]-139, [3]pp. 1 vols. 16mo. Contemporary tree calf, spine gilt, minor wear. One signature partially sprung, minor foxing. Provenance: George Goodwin, Jr. (early owner's signature). Ford 441; Evans 27007; Howes F323; ESTC W17368; cf. Grolier American 21.
Item #378165
Franklin wrote the first five chapters of his autobiography in England in 1771 covering his life from 1706 to 1731, resumed again 13 years later in Paris and again in 1788 when he returned to the United States. A draft of the first part was obtained by a French publisher and printed in Paris in 1791. That work would be translated into English and printed in London in 1793, with a continuation by the editor added. The complete version with all parts as written by Franklin would be published in 1818 by his grandson and literary heir William Temple Franklin.
The Tiebout & Obrian edition of Franklin's Works, a reprint of a British edition by G. G. J. and J. Robinson from 1793, contains the first American edition of the Autobiography, which comprises the entire first volume. The second volume, issued bound together with the first volume and without an engraved title [see Ford], comprises various essays including Franklin's Way to Wealth.
"The most widely read of all American autobiographies ... this book holds the essence of the American way of life" (Grolier American).
