Lot 169: [FRANKLIN, Benjamin]. Portrait of Benjamin Franklin, captioned "On l'a vu disarmer les Tirons et les Dieu. " Line engraving by Francois Denis Née (1732-1817) after Louis Carrogis de Carmontelle (1717-1806). Paris: chez Francois Denis Née,

[FRANKLIN, Benjamin]. Portrait of Benjamin Franklin, captioned "On l'a vu disarmer les Tirons et les Dieu." Line engraving by Francois Denis Née (1732-1817) after Louis Carrogis de Carmontelle (1717-1806). Paris: chez Francois Denis Née, [1780].

Folio (14¾ x 9 in). Line engraving, the sheet with full margins (very faint mat-burn). An unusual depiction after a watercolor by Carmontelle. In a relaxed pose, Franklin is seated at a table in an elegantly paneled room; behind is a large open window through which sailing vessels are visible (possibly an allusion to Franklin's handling of American naval affairs during the Revolution?). On the table lie documents, the topmost labeled "Les Loix de la Pensilvanie." Sellers, Franklin in Portraiture, pp.215-216.