"THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE", PRINTED BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Fine content pre-Revolutionary War newspaper, "The Pennsylvania Gazette" (Philadelphia: printed by Benjamin Franklin), May 25, 1749, no. 1067, 4pp. 4to., featuring a front-page printing of a bill to regulate and restrain the printing of bills of credit in the American colonies. This restriction required Americans to obtain the approval of the king before issuing bills of credit, greatly restricting free trade in the colonies. The paper also contains several advertisements, including announcements for ships sailing to London and Newfoundland. A notice on the final page reads: "All persons indebted to B. Franklin, for a year's Gazette, or more, are desired to pay." The bottom of this same page bears the credit: "Printed by B. Franklin, Post-Master, and D. Hall, at the New-Printing-Office, near the Market." The Pennsylvania Gazette was purchased by Franklin and Hugh Meredith in 1729, and quickly became the most popular newspaper in the colonies. It frequently featured articles written by Franklin under various aliases, including a third-person account of his famous kite experiment in 1752. The paper also featured the first American political cartoon, Franklin's depiction of the colonies as a segmented snake, with the caption "Join or Die". Apparently disbound, with some slight toning and foxing, else very good to fine.