[FRANKLIN IMPRINT]. (NEW JERSEY GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION LAWS)

Anno Regni Georgii II. Regin Magnae Britanniae, Franciae, & Hiberniae, Vicesimo Primo. At a General Assembly of the Colony of New-Jersey, Continued by Adjournments to the 17th Day of November, Anno Dom. 1747. Philadelphia: Printed by B.Franklin, 1748.

4 to. 53, [lpp. Orig. printed wrappers, housed in custom black cloth slipcase, inner cloth chemise. Title with upper corners repaired, final leaf re-margined at header, repairs to lower outer corners of final 3 leaves, a 1747 notation in ink to title, stab holes to gutter and some discoloration along binding edge, some spotting, else a very good copy.

A collection of 16 laws passed by the General Assembly of New Jersey in 1747-1748, the year Jonathan Belcher was appointed governor of the colony. The acts deal with a variety of topics, including livestock, infrastructure, slander, the punishment of counterfeiters, the importation of rum, and more. Two of the acts insurrection with the 1746 Land Riots, one being a pardon for the insurrectionists, known as the "Clinker Lot Right Men," and the other aimed at suppressing further unrest. This is the final piece of official printing which Franklin did for New Jersey before fellow Philadelphia printer William Bradford took over. Ironically, the laws include an Act in Support of the Government which approve the payment of the colony's printer - here specifically noted as B.

Franklin.

This is a remarkable association copy, with the ownership signature of Robert H. Morris (1700-1765) to the title page. At the time of printing, Morris was serving as Chief Justice of the Colony of New Jersey. Later, as the deputy Governor of Pennsylvania, acting on behalf of the Penn family, he would repeatedly clash with Franklin and the Pennsylvania Assembly over the taxation of Penn family lands to fund a provincial militia.

Excessively Rare. We can only find auction records for one copy other than this since 1935. Material referencing the 1935 auction is laid in, evidently from a New York Bar Association librarian, noting the purchase of this copy at Newark Galleries. Miller lists only 2 copies, and ESTC locates just four copies in institutions.

From Catalog III

Sixteen acts, among them the pardon of the 'Clinker Lot Right Men' of the 1746 land riots and an Act in Support of the Government authorizing payment of the colony's printer — named in the text as B. Franklin. The last official printing Franklin did for New Jersey. In a custom slipcase.