Five Quaker Pamphlets Issued by Franklin and Sower, Including Benezet's Abolitionist Tract, an Authorial Presentation Copy

A COLLECTION OF DEVOTIONAL TRACTS . . . [including] OBSERVATIONS ON THE INSLAVING [sic], IMPORTING AND PURCHASING OF NEGROES.

(BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PRINTINGS). (ABOLITION OF SLAVERY). (QUAKER PAMPHLETS). BENEZET, ANTHONY.

(Philadelphia and Germantown: B[enjamin]. Franklin and D[avid]. Hall or Christopher Sower, 1759-60). 192 x 130 mm. (7 1/2 x 5"). 1 p.l. (collection title), 47, [1], 71, [4], 76-168, iv, 5-43, [1], 55, [1], 64, 16 pp.

Contemporary blind-ruled sheep, nicely rebacked to style, raised bands. Verso of front flyleaf inscribed in ink in the recipient's hand: "This Book is the Gift of Mr. Anthony Benezett [sic] to William Anderson October 14th 1760"; front pastedown with ink inscription: "The holy Book To Be Read"; title page with signature of William Anderson dated 1760; front flyleaf and both free endpapers with additional 19th century owner inscriptions. Miller 730; Smith, Friends' Books I, p. 240. For "Observations": Sabin 4676; Evans 8542. Boards a little dried and scuffed, with a couple of small stains, text variably toned because of colonial paper quality (perhaps a fifth of the text rather browned), dampstaining in the upper margin in the middle part of the volume (mostly unobtrusive, but darker and extending downward on a few leaves). The texts in the kind of problematic condition expected with early American imprints, but the binding much better than is normally seen.

This is a presentation copy of an important published collection of Quaker texts that includes four works printed by Benjamin Franklin as well as an early significant abolitionist tract that delivers a powerful condemnation of the slave trade. The collection title page lists nine tracts in total (six of which were issued with separate title pages), comprising: "An Extract from the Spirit of Prayer" by W. Law; "A Discourse on Mistakes concerning Religion," by Thomas Hartley; "Christ's Spirit, or a Christian's Strength," "The Stumbling Stone," "The Doctrine of Baptism," and "The Trial of Spirits," all by William Dell; "The Liberty of Flesh and Spirit Distinguished," by J. Rutty; and "Observations on Enslaving, Importing, and Purchasing of Negroes, &c.," followed by "The Uncertainty of a Death-bed Repentance," both by Anthony Benezet. Miller asserts that "the first, fifth, sixth, and seventh had previously been printed by B[enjamin] F[ranklin] and D[avid] H[all], all in Caslon type. The remainder had been printed by Christopher Saur, who owned no Caslon letter." The volume title, also in Calson type, is attributed to the press of Franklin and Hall for the same reason. According to Miller, Anthony Benezet put together this collection of Quaker material in the spring of 1760 in an edition of 500 copies, with the hope of reaching those living "in ye back Parts of Maryland, Virginia & N. Carolina . . . and Connecticut." First printed in 1759, Benezet's forceful denunciation of the slave trade is notable for using eyewitness accounts from people actually involved with the trade, recounting the horrific practices and conditions that were realities of the system. Citing various lines of scripture, Benezet argues that slavery runs contrary to Christian teachings and Mosaic law, and that those who purchase and keep slaves bear as much guilt as the traders themselves. Born in France to Huguenot parents, Benezet (1713-84) was a Quaker, abolitionist, educator, and writer who became one of the earliest and most outspoken advocates against slavery in colonial America. He emigrated to Philadelphia (by way of Rotterdam and London) in 1731, where he founded Pennsylvania's first secondary school for girls, and later opened one of the first schools to welcome black students. ANB says that "Although Benezet is recognized as the most prolific antislavery propagandist of the eighteenth century, throughout his lifetime he supported and wrote about a wide variety of causes and topics, including assistance for Acadian refugees, temperance, peace, fair treatment of Native Americans, religion, educational reform, and poor relief." His wife, Joyce Benezet (d. 1786), née Marriott, was a preacher in the faith herself. According to Waldstreicher, Franklin maintained a "lifelong friendship with Quaker politicians, merchants and scientists. . . . He admired Quakerism because of its affirmation of simplicity, frugality, anti-slavery and humanitarianism." Franklin also saw the possibility of profit in printing for the considerable Quaker population of his colony. Hall (1714-72) came to Philadelphia from London in 1744 to work for Franklin, and became a partner in the firm in 1748. As a considerable mark of his regard for Hall, Franklin drew up a contract whereby his partner would, over an 18-year period, buy him out. It is a further sign of Franklin's regard for Hall that the printer is buried beside Franklin and his wife. As to contemporaneous provenance, we can speculate with some degree of certainty that our William Anderson was the person of that name who was a Quaker preacher from Haverford, near Philadelphia. His wife, Margaret--like Benezet's wife, Joyce--was also a preacher, and these two husband-and-wife teams are dealt with in Rebecca Larson's "Daughter of Light: Quaker Women Preaching and Prophesying in the Colonies and Abroad, 1700-1775" (1999), Appendix 2. . (ST19900)

Price: $9,500.00