CICERO, Marcus Tullius (106-43). Cato Major. Translated by James Logan. Philadelphia: Benjamin Franklin, 1744.

First edition, first state of Cicero's dialogue on old age—Benjamin Franklin typographic masterpiece. This translation of Cicero's dialogue on old age is generally recognized as Franklin's typographic masterpiece and regarded as one of the foremost examples of American printing of the eighteenth century. In the prefatory "The Printer to the Reader," Franklin claims that the book has the distinction of being "the first translation of a classic in this western world." It was something of a labor of love—Miller notes that "it was, after all, a courteous gesture to an old friend and all elderly gentlemen to print a famous essay on old age in type large enough that persons with failing eyesight could still read it." Church 949; Evans 5361; Miller 347; Norman 484; Sabin 1304

Quarto (193 x 123mm). Title printed in black and red. 19th-century red levant morocco gilt (joints and extremities rubbed, front endpaper starting to detach). Provenance: James Hale Bates (bookplate).