[Franklin, Benjamin]: [Wollaston, William]:

$2,000 · Offered by William Reese Company

THE RELIGION OF NATURE DELINEATED. The third edition of Wollaston's religious work, after the first of 1722 and a second edition of 1724. This edition was typeset by Benjamin Franklin at the age of nineteen, who had arrived in London from Philadelphia the year before. "Franklin arrived in London, December 24th, 1724, and was employed at S. Palmer's printing office. While there he worked as a compositor on The Religion of Nature Delineated. In his autobiography he says that he worked on the second edition, but this is a mistake, as the second edition was published before the author's death, October 29th, 1724. He must have worked on the edition of 1725, the third, as that was published while he was at Palmer's" - Campbell. Franklin's work on Wollaston's text made an impression on him, leading him to print a small refutation of it the same year, entitled A Dissertation on Liberty, Necessity, Pleasure and Pain, in an edition of 100 copies, most of which he claimed to have destroyed.A scarce and superb piece of Frankliniana, here in a desirable contemporary binding.

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