“POOR RICHARD HAD NO RIVAL IN POPULARITY”: SIGNED LIMITED EDITION OF FRANKLIN’S ALMANACKS, ONE OF 1500 COPIES SIGNED BY NORMAN ROCKWELL, WITH SIX BEAUTIFUL COLOR PLATES

(FRANKLIN, Benjamin) SAUNDERS, Richard. Poor Richard: The Almanacks for the Years 1733-1758. Philadelphia: Limited Editions Club, 1964. Folio, original half reverse tan calf, burgundy morocco spine label, marbled boards, original glassine, original slipcase. $750.

Signed limited edition of Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanacks, number 48 of 1500 copies signed by artist Norman Rockwell, with two double-page and four full-page color plates by him.

"Poor Richard had no rival in popularity among the publications of the American colonies. Benjamin Franklin began it in 1732, when he was 26, and carried it on for 25 years, using the name of Richard Saunders" (Introduction). Poor Richard's Almanack continued to flourish through the work of other hands even after Franklin ended his involvement (Complete Poor Richard's Almanacks, v-xxi). In his autobiography, Franklin characterized his almanac as "a proper vehicle for conveying instruction among the common people, who bought scarcely any other books." This signed limited edition, printed especially for members of the Limited Editions Club, contains two double-page and four full-page color plates, along with numerous in-text illustrations by Norman Rockwell. With the text of each of the 26 issues published by Franklin. Introduction by Van Wyck Brooks. Murrey, 112.

Book fine, wear to spine of scarce original glassine.