Poor Richard, 1740.

The rare 1740 Poor Richard’s Almanack, written and printed by Benjamin Franklin under his celebrated pseudonym, Richard Saunders. Small octavo, bound in three quarter morocco over marbled paper-covered boards, the spine lettered in gilt, with woodcut borders and the traditional woodcut figure of the anatomical man. Third edition, announced as just published in the Pennsylvania Gazette on 10 January 1740. This is the Laird U. Park copy, bearing the early ownership inscriptions of Daniel Brown, dated 1739 to 1740, and John Brown. In good condition, with browning, staining, and foxing, a long closed tear to the second and third leaves, and the final leaf supplied in facsimile. Miller 163; ESTC W22776; Evans 4364; Hildeburn 606a–b; Drake 9616–9618. A remarkable survival of the most famous almanac in American history, from Franklin’s own press.