Benjamin Franklin document signed ("B. Franklin Presidt."). One page, 7.25" x 10", no place; August 6, 1788. Manuscript legal document. Benjamin Franklin signs a document as President of the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A manuscript document recognizing the bankruptcy of Charles Cooper. It is signed by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) as Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It reads, in full: "Christlieb Barling of the City of Philadelphia, Lumber merchant, maketh Oath and Saith that Charles Cooper of the Northern Liberties of Philadelphia merchant dealer and suchapman, is Indebted to the deponent in the Sume of Two hundred Pounds, And that the said Charles Cooper is become Bankrupt within the meaning of the Acts of Assembly of this Commonwealth lately made and provided and now in force concerning Bankrupts, as this deponent is informed and verily believes. And further saith not." Franklin signed as witness "B. Franklin Presidt." Countersigned by Christlieb Bartling. After spending nine very successful years in France as commissioner for the United States, Ben Franklin returned to America in 1785 and was revered second only to George Washington as a great champion of American independence. Franklin served as the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania president for the next three years. The year before he signed this document, Franklin became a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention, where he held an honorific position and seldom engaged in debate. However, when delegates became heated over the issue of proportional representation, Benjamin Franklin urged coolness. As the eldest delegate at the Convention, Franklin acted on several occasions to restore harmony between delegates, with the ultimate result being the creation of the Constitution of the United States. The Convention was one of the key events in the history of the United States and Franklin remains the only man to become a signatory on four of the major documents concerning the founding of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, the Treaty of Alliance with France, and the United States Constitution. The document is accompanied by an engraved portrait of Franklin published by Johnson, Wilson & Co. Christlieb "Charles" Bartling (1743-1825) served as a captain in the Revolutionary War. In later life, he was a merchant and active member of the German Society, through which he assisted in setting up a German school in Philadelphia. In 1810, he unsuccessfully ran for Commissioner of Philadelphia County. Condition: Left edge trimmed affecting one letter of text. Bottom edge uneven. A few pinholes along left margin, presumably from being previously being bound. Slight offsetting and minor scattered foxing. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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