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

First edition, second state of a classic work printed by Benjamin Franklin, large paper issue. 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." The translation and notes are by James Logan, the Philadelphia statesman and bibliophile who is also known for his creation of a fraudulent map which helped the descendants of William Penn defraud the Lenape in the 1737 Walking Purchase. Church 949; Evans 5361; Hildeburn 868; Miller 347; Norman 484; Sabin 13040.

Quarto (211 x 137mm). Title printed in black and red. Engraved frontispiece portrait of Franklin in his study (a little dustsoiling to bottom edge of some leaves). Contemporary calf gilt (edges and joints a little worn). Provenance: Henry White (1761-1836, note signed Lichfield, 23 November 1813) – Philadelphia Museum of Art blindstamp on rear flyleaf.