Benjamin Franklin | The Way to Wealth, the first American broadside printing

Benjamin Franklin

The Way to Wealth, and a Plan by which every Man May Pay his Taxes. Philadelphia: Printed by Daniel Humphreys, in Spruce-street, near the Drawbridge, [1785]

Letterpress broadside (496 x 298 mm). Old folds, one or two tiny holes at intersections of folds, scattered foxing. Hinged to board and matted.

The first American broadside printing.

Franklin wrote "The Way to Wealth" as he journeyed from London to Philadelphia in 1757. While aboard the ship he amused himself by creating another fictional character, Father Abraham, who in this essay addresses a group of men complaining about the economy and their taxes. Father Abraham takes it upon himself to lecture his audience on the elements of success, underscoring the importance of hard work, frugality, and other attributes that would have been familiar to the readers of Poor Richard's almanacs. Father Abraham acknowledges that while taxes are high, the costs of idleness, pride, and folly are much higher.

Many of the essay's adages are still used today, including "There are no gains, without pains," and "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

The only copy in private hands; ESTC cites only two copies, both at the Library of Congress.

REFERENCES

ESTC W37271; Evans 19011

PROVENANCE

Sotheby's New York, 7 December 1999, lot 34 (undesignated consignor)