From Benjamin Franklin to Deborah Franklin, 5 July 1769
To Deborah Franklin
ALS (facsimile) in John Jay Smith, American Historical and Literary Curiosities; Consisting of Fac-Similes of Some Plates, &c. Relating to Columbus, and Original Documents of the Revolution … Second Series (New York, 1860), pl. XLVI.2
London July 5. 1769
My dear Child,
By Capt. Falconer, I shall write to you fully; this only serves to acquaint you that I am as well as I can be without my usual Journey, but I begin to feel the want of it, and shall set out in a few days, for a Tour of a few Weeks.3 I hope you are perfectly recovered.4 My Love to Sally and all Friends. I am, as ever Your affectionate Husband
B Franklin
2. The original, according to Smith, belonged in 1860 to Ferdinand J. Dreer. It seems to have vanished. It was not listed among the Dreer autographs sold on May 28–9, 1889, or in A Catalogue of the Collection of Autographs Formed by Ferdinand Julius Dreer (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1890–93), or in the sale of Dreer’s library on April 11–12, 1913; and it has not been published in any edition of BF’s works. The style, content, and handwriting of the note convince us, nevertheless, that it is genuine.
3. He set out for Paris on July 14 and returned on August 24.
4. See Thomas Bond to BF above, June 7.