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Broadside issued by Franklin and Hunter

Postal Museum

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    Object Details

    Associated Person
    Benjamin Franklin, American, 1706 - 1790
    James Parker
    William Hunter
    Woodward Abraham
    Description
    Benjamin Franklin and William Hunter signed this broadside as joint deputy postmasters general of the American colonies. The document, dated April 10, 1758, was used to excuse Woodward Abraham, postmaster of Marblehead, Massachusetts, from jury duty. As noted in the text, the work of His Majesty's postal employees was never to be impeded or delayed by subjecting them to responsibilities due the monarch by its citizens.
    "To the End the Deputies, Agents and other Officers employed in the Service of His Majesty's Revenue of the Post-Office not be impeded or hindered in their respective Duties. . . . That no such Deputies, Agents and other Officers shall be compelled to serve on any Jury or Inquest . . . or to bear any public office or Employement either Eccesiastical, Civil or Military."
    Franklin and Hunter felt that by excusing postal workers from anything that might interrupt or delay the mail service, the mail would move faster. The document was also a crucial step in making our secret jury system inviolate. Post riders during this time had access to the contents they carried. Under duress they could have been forced to reveal the contents of otherwise secret mail.
    Date
    April 10, 1758
    Object number
    1984.1127.2
    Type
    Archival Material
    Medium
    paper; ink; wax
    Dimensions
    Height x Width: 14 13/16 × 9 in. (37.62 × 22.86 cm)
    Place
    Massachusetts
    See more items in
    National Postal Museum Collection
    Data Source
    National Postal Museum
    Topic
    Colonial Era (1607-1776)
    Postal Administration
    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm870070ece-a5a3-4e12-ac24-cdcafb936c0f
    npm_1984.1127.2
    NPM
    BROADSIDE ISSUED BY FRANKLIN AND HUNTER
    National Postal Museum
    https://postalmuseum.si.edu/object/npm_1984.1127.2
    CC0
    Metadata Usage
    CC0
    GUID (Link to Original Record)
    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm870070ece-a5a3-4e12-ac24-cdcafb936c0f
    Record ID
    npm_1984.1127.2
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