Auction Name: 2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 47074

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6328*47074

Benjamin Franklin Signed Land Grant. One partially printed page on vellum, 13 x 12 inches, Pennsylvania; June 9, 1787. Grants "David Marshal Lieutenant in the late army of the United States...a certain tract or parcel of land lying in the county of Westmoreland." Signed in the left margin "B. Franklin" with his paraph, and additionally signed by James Trimble as witness. With the obverse of the Great Seal of Pennsylvania at the upper left on the recto and the reverse of the Great Seal on the verso. Docketed on the verso.

Following his return from France after helping negotiate the Treaty of Paris, Franklin resumed public service at home as President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, the office that functioned as the state's governorship. Holding the position from 1785 to 1788, longer than any of his predecessors, Franklin oversaw Pennsylvania's civil administration during the final years of the Confederation period. It was in this capacity that Franklin signed this land grant.

Condition: Lightly toned with smoothed folds; two very small separations at the central fold, touching text but not affecting legibility. Minor soiling at the edges. Adhesive remnants from previous mounting on the verso.

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