1761 – Continuation of the Account of the Pennsylvania Hospital; From the First of May 1754, to the Fifth of May 1761. With an alphabetical list of the Contributors and of the Legacies which have been bequeathed, for Promotion and Support thereof, from the first Rise to That Time.
Philadelphia: B. Franklin, and D. Hall, 1761. String. Issued as a separate volume continuation of Benjamin Franklin’s Some account of the Pennsylvania Hospital which was published in 1754. This was prepared by the hospital’s "committee on publication" and printed at Franklin’s printing house.
The pamphlet, measuring approximately 7½” x 10”, is complete but for the preliminary title leaf (provided in facsimile). It is paginated continuously with Franklin’s first volume, and its pages are numbered 41-77. It is string-bound to period paper stock in the rear. Some soiling and foxing with insect predation along the right margin which does not affect the text. (See Evans’ American Bibliography #7197 and Morton’s The History of the Pennsylvania Hospital.)
. Item #009975The impetus for publishing this continuation was the realization by the hospital managers in 1759 of a pressing need to raise funds for the facility. After the situation became desperate following an unsuccessful petition to the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1760, the managers decided to raise money by issuing this continuation of Franklin’s publication to bring the hospital’s history up to date.
Franklin is listed as a hospital manager on the publication’s first page, however as he was abroad in England at the time, Richard Rhoads stepped in to lead the publication committee. Franklin’s printing firm, Franklin and Hall, published the booklet, which described hospital activities, patient care, sources of support, income, and expenses. As a direct result, members of the Pennsylvania Assembly visited the facility and allocated £3,000 to retire its debts. (See Cohen’s Benjamin Franklin’s Science.)
Extremely scarce. Although digital, microform, and reprint copies abound, there are only few extant physical examples of the original printing. None are for sale in the trade, although one dealer is currently offering Franklin’s part one. The Rare Book Hub shows only 21 examples have appeared at auction in the past 166 years. OCLC records are fuzzy, and it is difficult to identify actual physical originals among the plethora of reprints and digital or microform copies, however it appears no more than five or six institutions have the real deal.
Missing the preliminary title leaf and showing some insect predation, so priced accordingly.
.Price: $1,000.00