Bowles's Moral Pictures or Poor Richard Illustrated Being Lessons for the Young and the Old on Industry, Temperance, Frugality &c. by Dr. Benjamin Franklin

Manchester: Bancks & Co, 1796. Full Description:

FRANKLIN, Benjamin. Bowles's Moral Pictures or Poor Richard Illustrated. Being Lessons for the Young and the Old on Industry, Temperance, Frugality &c. by Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Manchester: Bancks & Co., [n.d.c.a.1796].

Early, if not the first edition of this broadside illustrating maxims from Franklin's "Way to Wealth." This broadside was also issued about the same time in London by Bowles & Carver. The different editions are undated, but this present Manchester edition is the only one listed in the Ford Franklin Bibliography (137*).

Broadside, folded. Size (truncated) unfolded: (19 x 23 1/2 inches; 485 x 600 mm). Binding size: (7 7/8 x 5 inches; 200 x 125 mm). Engraved sheet comprising 25 oval vignettes after Robert Dighton. One of which is an engraved portrait of Franklin, and twenty-four of which are engraved vignettes illustrating Franklin's maxims. Each engraving has one of Franklin's maxims printed on the ovals' borders. These maxims include familiar saying such as "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" "There are no gains without pains" and "A rolling stone gathers no moss."

Broadside comprising a large folding sheet mounted on linen and folded in the original octavo cloth book-form case. Case is original full purple cloth, with front board stamped in gilt. Boards a bit sunned. Spine with some minor splitting and chipping of cloth. A bit of toning to paper. Some foxing to linen backing, occasionally showing through at folds. Still a very good copy of this rare item seldom found in the original cloth binding.

"According to OCLC, there are less than a dozen copies of this Benjamin Franklin broadside in the United States and three of them are at Princeton. Folded into a stamped binding, the undated broadside was published after 1790 (Franklin’s death) at the shop of Carington Bowles (1724-1793). Its twenty-five engraved oval vignettes (including a central Franklin portrait) were designed by Robert Dighton (1752-1814) to illustrate Franklin’s maxims." (Princeton University, Graphic Arts Collection)

Ford Franklin Bibliography, 137*.

HBS 69261.

$6,500. (Inventory #: 69261)