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Americana to 1900
Lot 69

FRANKLIN ON ELECTRICITY.
FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN. 1706-1790.
Experiments and Observations on Electricity Made at Philadelphia in America. London: Printed for F. Newberry, 1774

21 November 2023, 10:00 EST
New York

Sold for US$5,120 inc. premium

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FRANKLIN ON ELECTRICITY.

FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN. 1706-1790. Experiments and Observations on Electricity Made at Philadelphia in America. London: Printed for F. Newberry, 1774 8vo (226 x 170 mm). Half-title, 7 engraved plates (2 folding). Contemporary calf, morocco lettering piece, minor chipping at upper joint, light moisture staining at very outer edges of plates.
Provenance: "De Schuldorff, London, 1778" (ink inscription to title).

FIFTH AND MOST COMPLETE EDITION of the "most significant scientific book of eighteenth-century America" (PMM 199, for 1st edition). A clean copy of the most complete edition of Franklin's landmark work, incorporating the letters and contributions of his colleague, Peter Collinson. Howes F-320 ("b", "America's first great scientific contribution"); PMM 199 (for 1st edition).

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