(BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.) Edward Savage, engraver; after Martin. Benjamin Franklin L.L.D., F.R.S. Mezzotint, 21 x 17 inches; 1½-inch filled chip on top edge extending ¼ inch into image, 11-inch closed tear and other shorter tears through image, partial horizontal fold in lower part of image, other minor wear and repairs, uneven toning, laid down on board. Boston: Abel Bowen, circa 1793 A bust of Sir Isaac Newton looks down on Franklin as he reads a manuscript.
The plate was engraved by the American artist Edward Savage in 1793 while he resided in London, where it was first printed. Stauffer 2745 lists Abel Bowen of Boston as publisher of the first American printing, but names McKinzie as the printer. Here P.A. O'Neill is named as the printer, a variant unrecorded in Stauffer. Its priority is unknown. Shadwell 83.
Both variants of the Bowen Boston printing are quite scarce, with none recorded in OCLC. One of the McKenzie printings is held by Historic Deerfield, and one of these O'Neill printings is at the Worcester Art Museum. We trace none sold at auction since 1910, although Goodspeed offered one in 1916 for $50, and Rosenbach offered one for $275 in 1948.