Franklin, Benjamin, as Ambassador to France

Autograph letter signed ("B. Franklin"), 2 1/3 pages (12 x 8 in.; 305 x 202 mm), Passy, France, 29 March 1780, to Charles W. F. Dumas, relating his unwitting role in the interception of a letter from Dumas to William Carmichael by Sir George Grand; washed and pressed with residual staining, faded, silked remargined (with some loss of text in approximately 6 lines, two-thirds of second leaf remargined. Bound in half calf and housed in a light blue cloth folding case, light blue morocco spine lettered gilt, spine lightly sunned.

Otto Orren Fisher (bookplate)

Franklin relates his unwitting role in the interception of a letter from Charles W. F. Dumas to diplomat William Carmichael by Sir George Grand, who showed it to the ambassador in Holland. Dumas's letters were conveyed by Franklin to Ferdinand Grand, banker to the Americans. The letter was a request for Grand to send Carmichael, then en route for Madrid, a credit of 200 louis.  Sir George, on a visit to the bank, spied the letter on his brother's desk and flew into a rage. Franklin relates: "Sir George ... came to him [his brother] with the letter in his open hand, saying this letter is full of ingratitude ... and I will carry it to Holland and show it to the ambassador: and that he had accordingly carried it away with him ... I am exceedingly sorry that I did not rather send it to the Spanish ambassador's."