Invoicing Georgia for acting as Parliamentary agent

Benjamin Franklin, 7 October 1776
FRANKLIN, Benjamin (1706-1790). Autograph document signed ("B. Franklin" and again in text), Philadelphia, 7 October 1776.

One page, 166 x 295mm, laid in to a larger sheet and framed with an engraving of Franklin (weak vertical folds repaired, several holes infilled, light toning).

Benjamin Franklin bills Georgia for representing the colony in Parliament. It was Pennsylvania who sent Franklin to London in 1757 as its agent in an attempt to convince the Penn family cede its control over the colony. Franklin's efforts on that front failed, but his campaign to repeal the Stamp Act in 1765 convinced Massachusetts, New Jersey and Georgia also to retain his servics to represent their interests in Parliament. Here, two months before he would depart for France, Franklin sends an invoice to "The Province of Georgia" for "Three Years Service as their Agent in England at 100£ Pr Ann[um]." Franklin also added a line for the required attire to attend Parliament: "Cash paid for Mace, Gowns, . [£]107.12.9" as well as the services of a solicitor and other "small Expences." Of the £439 invoiced, Georgia still owed £219. Whether Georgia ever paid the balance is unknown.

Please note that the document is laid in to a larger sheet and mounted to a board.