Ledger page from Franklin's GPO account book

Benjamin Franklin, American, 1706 - 1790 · April 5, 1770-April 5, 1772

The folio shown here is from Benjamin Franklin's General Post Office account book. It is written entirely by his hand, including eight signatures of his name, and it spanned 1770-1772. The ledger records, among other things, the annual salaries of three hundred pounds to Benjamin Franklin (residing in London during this time) and John Foxcroft, joint postmasters general of the colonies. The ledger also documents the successful lobbying of Secretary of Comptroller John Parker for an increase in his annual allowance.