FRANKLIN, Benjamin.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Œuvres. First edition in French of the author's collected works. Franklin was closely involved in the translation process. Letters from him to Barbeau-Duborg from 1773 include directives such as, "For 'propre au verre', read 'proportionnée au quantité de verre', or use some other words that are better French than those that I propose" (Founders Online). The first part consists of Franklin's complete works on electricity and is taken from the fourth and most comprehensive English edition, published in 1769. The second part concerns Franklin's many other areas of scientific expertise, including meteorology, his improvements on chimneys (the "Franklin stove"), population, inoculation, and music.Jacques Barbeu-Dubourg (1709-1779) was a close friend of Franklin's; he too was a polymath, and the two men shared many interests. In a letter dated 5th December 1774, Franklin recommends a friend to Barbeau-Duborg, saying "He is fond of your favourite study electricity, and you will have pleasure in conversing with him" (Founders Online). When Franklin arrived in France in 1776, hoping to secure French support for the American Revolution, Barbeu-Dubourg became his enthusiastic ally. He devoted himself to procuring money and supplies for the Americans.

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