AD : Library of Congress So dated because of the reference to dining at Mr. Foxcroft’s. Although the time bracket is unlikely to have much value, the means of establishing it may be worth explaining to illustrate how such problems of dating can sometimes be narrowed when they cannot be solved. The Pa. Packet , on which Foxcroft came to England, arrived on May 30 or 31 ( Lloyd’s Evening Post ,...
2To Benjamin Franklin from [Richard Henry Alexander?] Bennet, [1769?] (Franklin Papers)
AL : American Philosophical Society Mr. Bennet presents his Comp[limen]ts to Doctor Franklin and returns him many thanks for the Honor of his very obliging Present which he esteems infinitely. The writer and date are equally conjectural. The Bennet to whom we have assigned the note was an F.R.S. and a co-sponsor, with BF , of the nomination of William Hewson to the Society in December, 1769;...
3To Benjamin Franklin from [John] Foxcroft, [1769?]: résumé (Franklin Papers)
AL : American Philosophical Society [1769? A note in the third person, dated only Friday, asking Franklin to visit him for a game of chess “on his New Invented Table.” A very bad cold has prevented Foxcroft from calling, and the visit would be an act of charity.] So identified by the handwriting. But his brother Thomas, the Philadelphia postmaster, wrote a closely similar hand, and visited...
4To Benjamin Franklin from W. Masters, [1769?] (Franklin Papers)
LS : American Philosophical Society Though I have not the honour of an intimate acquaintance with you, yet your character of humanity and benevolence, and the intimacy that subsisted between you and my Father, and especially the desire of contributing to the Peace and Happiness of an old Neighbour whom for several Years I have found an honest worthy industrious Man, imboldens me to give you...
5Marginalia in Good Humour, an Anonymous Pamphlet, [1769?] (Franklin Papers)
MS notations in the margins of a copy in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania of Good Humour: or, a Way with the Colonies, Wherein Is Occasionally Enquired into Mr. P––t’s Claim of Popularity; and the Principles of Virtuous Liberty, as Taught in the School of Mr. Wilkes, and Other Peripatetics (London, 1766). This is the first of a series of marginal comments by Franklin on pamphlets that...
6Marginalia in The True Constitutional Means, an Anonymous Pamphlet, [1769?] (Franklin Papers)
MS notations in the margins of a copy in the New York Public Library of The True Constitutional Means for Putting an End to the Disputes between Great-Britain and the American Colonies (London, 1769). [ On the title page: ] Query, Could this be written by Mr. Jackson? from some Expressions and Arguments it should seem so; but others are so unlike his Precision that I rather think he is not the...
7Marginalia in a Pamphlet by Israel Mauduit, [1769?] (Franklin Papers)
MS notations in the margins of a copy in the New York Public Library of [Israel Mauduit,] A Short View of the History of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, with Respect to Their Original Charter and Constitution (London, 1769). The Virginians claim the Honour of having taken this Lead. But, as they are Episcopalians, and the N E. People Dissenters, of whom Sedition, Republicanism and Rebellion...
8Observations upon [Thomas Pownall], State of the Constitution of the Colonies, [1769?] (Franklin Papers)
MS (copy): American Philosophical Society In December, 1769, or possibly in the following month, Thomas Pownall attempted to formulate general principles of law that applied to the issues in dispute between Britain and her colonies. He composed a short document in two parts; the first set forth six principles, and the second adduced corollaries from them. This document he had printed but not...
9Marginalia in a Pamphlet by Allan Ramsay, [1769?] (Franklin Papers)
MS notations in the margins of a copy in the Library of Congress of [Allan Ramsay,] Thoughts on the Origin and Nature of Government, Occasioned by the Late Disputes between Great Britain and Her American Colonies: Written in the Year 1766 (London, 1769). Allan Ramsay (1713–84), the son of the Scottish poet of the same name, was one of the most fashionable artists of the period, and in 1767...
10From Benjamin Franklin to Adolf Benzelius, [November 1769 or December 1769] (Franklin Papers)
AL : University of Uppsala Library Dr. Franklin presents his best Respects to Mr. Benzel, and will be glad to see him and his Friend tomorrow morning at Eleven a Clock, if that time will suit them, and they think fit to do him the Honour of a Visit in Craven street. Addressed: To / Mr Benzel / at Mrs Philips’s / Jeweller. / St Martin’s Court Adolf Benzelius or Benzelstierna (1715–75) came of a...