Beschreibung:

JEFFERSON, Thomas (1743-1826). President . Autograph letter signed ("Th:Jefferson") to James Madison, James Monroe or Samuel Hardy, Paris, 5 July 1785. 1 page, 4to , very fine condition. JEFFERSON INTRODUCES BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S GRANDSON, WILLIAM FRANKLIN, EVOKING "ESTEEM FOR THE CHARACTER OF HIS GRANDFATHER" A significant letter, the only one of the original three that is known to exist, expressing Jefferson's praise for Benjamin Franklin's grandson in a letter of introduction. Serving as a commissioner to France at the end of the Revolution and as the United States minister to that country after the war, Jefferson had worked closely with Benjamin Franklin The association of the two men began long before in the Pennsylvania State House amidst the ground-breaking meetings of the Continental Congress. They served together on the prestigious committee entrusted with the task of writing a Declaration of Independence from England. Jefferson thought highly of the elder statesmen and upon Franklin's departure from France, leaving Jefferson as America's chief representative in Paris, the Virginian worried about his ability to fill such important shoes: "Thrust into the circles Franklin had abandoned, he believed he would never supplant the most popular American in Europe...Jefferson himself called Franklin 'the greatest man and ornament of the age and country in which he lived" (Brodie, Thomas Jefferson , p. 244). Jefferson did an admirable job as Franklin's replacement in France. Now, surely remembering his fondness for the elder Franklin, he writes a letter of recommendation for his grandson William: "The bearer hereof, Mr. Franklin, being about to return to America, I take the liberty of presenting him to your acquaintance. Your esteem for the character of his grandfather could have procured him a favourable reception with you: and it cannot but increase your desire to know him, when you shall be assured that his worth & qualifications give him a personal claim to it. I have taken the liberty of assuring him how much I value your friendship myself, and am persuaded you will both be obliged to me for bringing you together, when you shall have had time to become known to each other." A copy of this letter was carried to James Madison, James Monroe and Samuel Hardy by William Franklin. It is referred to in a separate letter to James Monroe, which Franklin also carried (Boyd, ed. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson , VIII, pp. 261-262). William Temple Franklin was the son of Benjamin Franklin's son William, the Royal Governor of New Jersey. At the outset of the Revolution, William Temple stood by his Grandfather's side in support of independence despite his Father's decision to remain loyal to the King. He served as Benjamin Franklin's personal secretary in Paris and ultimately edited his grandfather's writings. William Temple was once described by Polly Hewson in a letter to her friend Benjamin Franklin "We are all pleased with our old Friend Temple changed into young Franklin...We see a strong resemblance of you...I believe you may have been handsomer than your Grandson is, but then you were never so genteel; and if he has a little less philosophy he has more polish" (Wright, Franklin of Philadelphia , p. 327).