Call Number:

C0330

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 23 boxes
• 22.5 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); George Simpson Eddy Collection of Benjamin Franklin, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1684-1947 (inclusive)

Creator:

Eddy, George Simpson (1867-1947)

Form:

Correspondence and Transcripts.

Abstract:

Consists of material by and about American patriot and founding father Benjamin Franklin collected by George Simpson Eddy in the process of pursuing various projects on and studies of Franklin.

George Simpson Eddy was the author of a number of works about founding father Benjamin Franklin.

The collection consists of material by and about Franklin divided into two main sections: the 20th-century papers of Eddy and the 18th-century material of Franklin. The Eddy section, which comprises the bulk of the collection, contains correspondence between Eddy and members of the Franklin family, booksellers, collectors of Frankliniana, and scholars, as well as Eddy's notes, notebooks, and manuscripts relative to the various projects and studies he undertook about Franklin. Included in the Eddy section are pamphlets, books, and periodicals collected by him.

In the Franklin section are photostats and transcripts of correspondence between Benjamin Franklin and members of the family, such as William, William Temple, and Deborah Franklin, the Baches, and Jane Mecom; it includes letters by Franklin to Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, Samuel Johnson, George Washington, John Witherspoon, and many others during the Colonial, Revolutionary, and post-Revolutionary periods. In addition, there are copies of portraits of Franklin, transcripts and photostats of documents, pamphlets, and books contemporaneous with Franklin, many of which bear annotations by him, and 18th-century newspapers.

Arranged as follows: Section I. George Simpson Eddy Material--Correspondence, Notebooks, Printed Material, Bibliographical Items; Section II. Benjamin Franklin Material--Correspondence, Memoranda, Documents, Photostats of Printed Matter, Rare French Frankliniana, and Miscellaneous Material.