[FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN.]
Cicero, Marcis Tullius. Cato Major, Or his Discourse of Old-Age: With Explanatory Notes. Philadelphia: B. Franklin, 1744. )(4, A-U4; viii, 159, [1] pp. 4to (7.8 x 5.2 inches). Title in red and black, typographical ornaments throughout. Modern full brown morroco gilt by H. Zucker. Light spotting throughout, contemporary marginalia on page 24, else a very clean example.
First edition, with "only" on p. 27, which Lawrence Larabee of the Benjamin Franklin Papers describes as the more scarce of the two states as the work was corrected towards the end of the print run. Franklin's Cato Major, which he perceived as one of his best typographical efforts, is now regarded as one of the earliest American fine press productions. "Next to the almanacs the Cato Major is probably Franklin's best known publication; many think it is his most handsome piece of printing, and for a large number of important collectors in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it was the only Franklin imprint worth having in their collections." Miller, who locates 92 copies, including this one. Miller 347, Evans 5361.
See illustration.
![[FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN.]](https://images2.bonhams.com/image?src=Images/live/2005-05/20/7077085-12-1.jpg&width=640&height=480&autosizefit=1 "[FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN.]")
