Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography, Heritage Press Ed. 1951, illustrated

"The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin", now printed for the first time from the manuscript as Franklin wrote it, and including his Preliminary Outline; with an Introduction by Carl Van Doren, and illustrations by William Sharp, published by Heritage Press, 1951. The "Sandglass" brochure is present.

Hard boards, marbled cloth boards, velum-color spine with black box and gold lettering [very little soiling and wear]; 7" x 10.1/8"; double-page "Boston: 1706" inside cover and front endpaper; double-page plate New York: 1723; Philadelphia 1723, and London: 1724; portrait of Ben Franklin, 233 pages with numerous text illustrations, xix +233 pages; very good/ fine condition.

The illustrator, William Sharp (1900-1961) was born Leon Schleifer in Lemberg, Austria. He attended the Academy for Arts and Industry there and continued his studies in Krakow, Poland, Berlin, and Munich. After service in World War I, he became a newspaper artist in Berlin and a well-known etcher. His biting political cartoons provoked threats of imprisonment from the National Socialists, so he left Austria for the United States in 1934, where he changed his name and found work as a courtroom artist and a staff artist at "Esquire" magazine. Sharp contributed illustrations to numerous periodicals including "The New York Times Magazine", "Life", and "Colliers". He illustrated books for several publishers and produced several compilations of his illustrations.

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