The Gentleman's Magazine : November 1755; July 1755; May 1756; October 1756; Nov. 1756; February 1757 (6 issues bound in 1)

Benjamin Franklin; Sylvanus Urban

D. Henry and R. Cave, 1755

[The French and Indian War as seen by British contemporaries]  An interesting sammelband of 6 issues from 1755-1757.  309 pages in total. Issues bound non-consecutively.  Bound in 19th century 3/4 leather over marbled boards.  Rebacked, with modern leather spine.  Clean, unmarked pages.  Includes three maps of: Cape Hope; the war between Germany and Austria; and a general map of Europe.  Engraved plate of "nine curious shells."   Includes a printed musical score and songs.  Each issue begins with an engraved title page showing St. John's Gate.  

The success of the British in the French and Indian War established British preeminence in North America, and augured the events that would lead to American independence.  A selection of the contents: 1. July, 1755. Account of The British Settlement of North. America, New England; Dinwiddie's Speech to the Virginians; 2. Nov. 1755. On the increases of Mankind by Benjamin Franklin; Disputes in Pennsylvania (with reactions to Gen. Braddock's defeat); Form of a Bill for uniting the American Colonies; Account of British Settlement; the history of Maryland; 3. May, 1756. Plans of Measures for the English provinces in North America; Conduct of the French in America.; 4. October, 1756; 5. November, 1756, Events of the Seven Years' War (the French and Indian War); 6. February, 1757. The campaigns in America in 1755, 1756 (note: Lacking one leaf, p. 79-80, the description of the Fort of Oswego, also lacks the map of North America called for in the table of contents). 

The Gentleman's Magazine was a monthly established by Edward Cave in 1731.  Cave coined the word "magazine" (a storehouse of knowledge) to refer to a publication that covered a wide range of topics. Interestingly the magazine's motto was "E pluribus unum," which appears on the the Great Seal of the United States and US currency.