Partially printed DS, signed “B. Franklin,” one page on vellum, 15 x 12, June 9, 1787. Franklin, as President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, grants a parcel of land in Westmoreland County to army veteran Lieutenant David Marshall. The paper seal remains mostly intact at upper left. The Constitutional Convention convened at Philadelphia on May 25, and the fifty-five delegates, including Franklin, spent a heated summer hammering out the core issues and fine points of what would emerge as the Constitution of the United States. The proceedings were marked throughout by much disagreement and even divisiveness, which was largely alleviated by Franklin’s dramatic speech on September 17, the final day of the Convention. Franklin, too weak to address the assembly himself, entrusted his words to fellow Pennsylvanian James Wilson: “I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered.... I doubt ... whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution.... Thus I consent ... to this Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure, that it is not the best.” In very good condition, with folds (a few minor pinholes at intersections) and scattered toning, soiling, and light staining, scarcely affecting the large, clear signature. LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
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