Benjamin Franklin Signed Postal Appointment as Postmaster General....

Description

Appointment signed as the first postmaster general of the United States

Benjamin Franklin Signed Postal Appointment as Postmaster General. One partially printed page, 15 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches, [Philadelphia]; September 25, 1775. A document appointing William Ellery as Deputy Postmaster. Signed, "B Franklin" as Postmaster General appointed by Congress, a post he served in for a single year.

In part: "Know ye, that I, the said Benjamin Franklin, having received good Testimony of the Fidelity and public Spirit of William Ellery, of Hartford, in the Colony of Connecticut, Gent. and reposing great Trust and Confidence in the Knowledge, Care and Ability of the said William Ellery, to execute the Office and Duties required of a Deputy Post-Master, have deputed, constituted, authorized and appointed, and by these presents do depute, constitute, authorize and appoint the said William Ellery, to be my lawful and sufficient Deputy..."

On July 2, 1775, the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin Postmaster General, making him the first to hold the office under American authority. However, his service was brief; by the summer of 1776, Franklin was helping to draft the Declaration of Independence. In October, he departed for France to seek military and diplomatic support for the war effort. He officially resigned from his post in November 1776, naming his son-in-law, Richard Bache, as his successor.

We were able to find only one online auction record for a postmaster appointment signed by Franklin, sold by Charles Hamilton in 1971. That document was signed during Franklin's tenure as Postmaster General as appointed by the British crown. The one offered here is as postmaster as appointed by the Second Continental Congress.

Includes a letter of provenance (one page, 5 3/4 x 9 inches, mounted to later paper to an overall size of 16 1/8 x 11 inches, Hartford; March 25, 1882) recording that this appointment was given to librarian Charles J. Hoadly by Mary Seymour, William Ellery's granddaughter.

Having already established himself as a prominent author and printer in the American colonies, Benjamin Franklin was appointed Postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737. He held this position for sixteen years before being named, alongside publisher William Hunter, as joint Deputy Postmasters General of British North America. Franklin served in this role for over two decades, administering postal operations from Philadelphia throughout the northern and eastern colonies, with his jurisdiction eventually extending as far north as the Province of Quebec.

During his tenure, Franklin implemented a series of reforms that greatly improved the efficiency and reliability of the postal system. These included new accounting practices, the introduction of nighttime mail carriers, the acceptance of all newspapers into the mail for a nominal fee, and the establishment of the Penny Post, which enabled the local delivery of unclaimed letters for a penny. His innovations were considered vital to the development of the colonial post. Franklin was dismissed from his position in 1774 due to his growing alignment with the revolutionary cause.

William Ellery (1740-1812), whom Franklin appoints here as Deputy Postmaster of Hartford, was a successful Connecticut merchant who had previously held the post beginning in 1767. He was reinstated by Franklin following the outbreak of the Revolutionary War and served for an additional two years, retiring in 1777. Notably, Ellery was the grandfather of Thomas H. Seymour, the 36th Governor of Connecticut.

Condition: Heavy offset toning from previous framing. Separations at the edges and folds, repaired on the verso. Remnants of sealing wax at the left margin; offset toning from wax at the right of the page, touching text but not affecting legibility. Loss at the bottom left corner, not touching text. Docketed on the verso, with light pencil annotation at the right margin on the verso. Letter of provenance is heavily toned, with adhesive staining throughout; mounting paper has heavy dampstaining and edgewear, resulting in loss at the bottom right corner.

More Information: A census of Benjamin Franklin signed postmaster appointments prepared by Michael Ludeman has identified a total of eleven:
Great Britain Postal System
Appointing A W. Thomas Vernon PM at Newport, RI. December 24, 1754. New York Public Library. (Signed by Franklin & William Hunter)
Appointing Woodward Abraham PM at Marblehead, MA. April 10, 1758. Previously sold at Charles Hamilton Sale #48 in 1971. Current location unknown. (Signed by Franklin & William Hunter)
Appointing Abraham Hunt PM at Trenton, NJ. January 10, 1764. Sold at R. A. Siegel, B. F. Bailar collection. (Signed by Franklin & John Foxcroft)
Under Authority of the Continental Congress
Appointing Ebenezer Hazard for New York. September 21, 1775. American Philosophical Society.
Appointing William Ellery for Hartford, CT. September 25, 1775. (Being offered here.)
Appointing Elias Beers for New Haven. September 25, 1775. (Mrs. Norman H. Pearson, Hamden, CT)
Appointing Richard Bache for Philadelphia, October 2, 1775. American Philosophical Society.
Appointing John Langdon for New Hampshire. October 2, 1775. Yale University Library.
Appointing Abraham Hunt for Trenton, N.J. October 13, 1775. ex-R. A. Siegel, B. F. Bailar collection; ex-Theodore Sheldon, Chicago.
Appointing Shubael Burr for Warren, R.I. November 13, 1775. Baptist Church Benevolent Society, Warren.
Appointing Samuel Freeman PM at Portland, ME. October 1, 1775. Maine Historical Society.