Franklin`s copy of An Account of the War in India - photo 1
Franklin`s copy of An Account of the War in India - photo 2

Franklin`s copy of An Account of the War in India

Lot 34
25.05.2022 17:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 35 280
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 752810
Lot 34 | Franklin's copy of An Account of the War in India
Estimate value
$ 8 000 – 12 000
Franklin's copy of An Account of the War in IndiaLondon, 1761FRANKLIN, Benjamin (1706-1790) – CAMBRIDGE, Richard Owen (1717-1802). An Account of the War in India, Between the English and French, on the Coast of Coromandel, from the Year 1750 to the Year 1761. Together with a Relation of the Late Remarkable Evens on the Malabar Coast, and the Expeditions to Golconda and Surat. With the Operations of the Fleet. London, 1761. Benjamin Franklin's copy. A volume from Franklin's library chronicling British exploits against the French in India during the Seven Years War, likely acquired by him during his long stays in London in the 1760s and early 1770s. After Franklin's death in 1790, a large portion of his library became the property of his grandson, William Temple Franklin, who the same year departed for England never to return. William Temple subsequently sold or gave it to Signer and financier Robert Morris. When Morris went bankrupt at the end of the decade, the library fell into the hands of the Philadelphia bookseller Nicholas G. Dufief in 1801, who began offering volumes for sale to the public. Dufief attempted to interest Congress in obtaining most of the library en bloc, but the deal was never consummated, and the disappointed bookseller sent most of the collection to auction. On 12 March 1803, Philadelphia auctioneers Shannon & Poalk sold the library and Philadelphia attorney William Rawle purchased the present volume, inscribing it: "W. Rawle 1803 – bo't at sale of Dr. Franklin's library." In 1846, the Philadelphia autograph collector Ferdinand J. Dreer obtained this copy and in 1886, he presented it to the Society of the Sons of St. George. Although Franklin was known to have produced a list of the contents of the library soon before his death, it has never been discovered. Dufief compiled and supplied his own list when he offered the library to Congress, but that has since too been lost. Finally, the auctioneer's advertisement for the sale in 1803 informed the public that "Printed catalogues may be obtained the day before the sale, at the Book stores of Messrs. Carey, S. Bradford, Duane, P. Byrne and Conrad" (Poulson's American Daily Advertiser, Philadelphia, 10 Mar. 1803, p. 3). But frustratingly, no copy of this list has surfaced. For a fuller discussion of the complex provenance and attempts to discover the whole contents of Franklin's library see: Edwin Wolf II, "The Reconstruction of Benjamin Franklin's Library: An Unorthodox Jigsaw Puzzle," The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America. 56:1-16). Not recorded in Wolf and Hayes, The Library of Benjamin Franklin, but recording two other volumes Rawle purchased at the 1803 Franklin library auction including Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland (787) and Nyctologues de Platon (2993). Interestingly, three years after Rawle made his purchase from the Franklin library auction, he became embroiled in a dispute with the collection’s consignor, Nicholas Dufief, of whom Rawle had been an early friend and supporter in Philadelphia. Dufief came to America originally as a French tutor before he added bookselling to his resume, and claimed to have pioneered a novel method of language instruction utilizing phraseology rather than the traditional study of vocabulary and grammar. He memorialized his method in 1804 under the title Nature Displayed, in Her Mode of Teaching Language to Man. Rawle, who had sent his own children to Dufief’s school of French language, apparently, according to the Frenchman, had claimed credit for this novel method of language instruction—going as far as to issue a pamphlet disputing Rawle’s claims in 1806. We are unaware of Rawle’s own thoughts on the matter, but following his death, a friend wrote that Rawle had been known for his generosity toward a “foreigner … who afterwards repaid him with the blackest ingratitude.” For a fuller discussion of this affair see Madeline Stern’s Nicholas Gouin Dufief of Philadelphia (Philadelphia: The Philobiblon Club, 1988) pp. 20-21. Quarto (260 x 210mm). With 12 engraved maps and plans and 6 plates, mostly folding (occasional tears where bound in, some ink transfer to plates and facing pages) pencil marginalia on page in an unknown hand. Contemporary calf (hinges cracked, boards and spine worn and spine chipped at extremities). Cloth clamshell. Provenance: Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790; per inscription by:) – William Rawle (1759-1836) – Ferdinand J. Dreer (1812-1902, bookplate and ownership signature, gift inscription to:) – The Society of the Sons of St. George.
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