Bonhams Presents History Written and Made by Benjamin Franklin, George S. Patton, and Sir Isaac Newton

In spring of 1782, when preliminary negotiations of the terms of American independence stalled, Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to Benjamin Vaughan. The latter was friends with the incoming British Prime Minister Lord Shelburne. In this diplomatic document, which is currently up for bid in Bonhams’ Fine Books and Manuscripts auction, Franklin responds to suggestions that Great Britain retained sovereignty over the United States: “If this be really his [Shelburne’s] Project, our Negociation for Peace will not go very far; the thing is impracticable and impossible, being inconsistent with the Faith we have pledg’d, to say nothing of the general Disposition of our People.” The letter bears Franklin’s signature. 

Other documents in the sale include a printed copy of the Constitution of the United States from The Evening Chronicle in 1787, a typed letter from George S. Patton to Morry Luxenberg, the first known printed portrait of George Washington, and more. This auction offers several other historical collectibles as well, such as a bust of Abraham Lincoln by George Edwin Bissell, a 34-star American Flag with the words “The Union Forever” printed on the center white stripe, and Sir Isaac Newton’s “New and Improved Terrestrial Globes.” View any of these lots and register to bid on Bonhams.