[Franklin Printing]. By the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq; Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Province of Pennsylvania,

(FRANKLIN PRINTING). By the Honourable James Hamilton, Esq; Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of the Province of Pennsylvania, and Counties of New-Castle, Kent and Sussex, on Delaware. [Philadelphia: Franklin & Hall, c. 1760?]. Single sheet, 9.5 x 11.25 inches, printed on one side. Completed in manuscript. Old fold lines, lower left hand corner expertly mended, some mild toning, else very good.

Variant printing of Miller 741. A wholly unrecorded Franklin printing of a copy of a French and Indian War military commission for two foot companies to a Pennsylvania Provincial Officer, Jonas Seely (1710-1783). Seely had previously served in the French and Indian War as a captain in the Pennsylvania Provincials from 1755 to 1759. He was also a prominent land owner and public figure in Berks County, serving as treasurer and as a justice.

This document was made upon the outbreak of the so-called Pontiac Conspiracy during the summer of 1763, in which Seely engaged in skirmishes with raiding groups of Native Americans, most notably during a massacre of British settlers in September of 1763. Seely and his six men fought eight Native American warriors.

This copy commission has the original provincial seal at the lower right corner. On the recto in manuscript is stated “Copy of Commission to Jonas Seely Esq in Berks/County to raise & command/two companies - July 11th, 1763/others of the same kind were given to Col. James Armstrong for Cumberland County/The Rev.d Mr. John Elder for Lancaster County/ Timothy Horsefield Esq. for Northhamption County.” Miller 741 records only one known copy, at the University of Pennsylvania. This variant printing has never been seen.

From Catalog III

A wholly unrecorded Franklin printing: a commission issued in July 1763 to Jonas Seely of Berks County, a French and Indian War captain, to raise two companies of foot against Pontiac's raids. Seely and six men fought eight warriors that September. A variant of Miller 741, with the seal intact.