James Logan was one of the most active political figures in colonial Philadelphia. He was also a scholar and perhaps the most extraordinary bookman of his time. In 1731, when Benjamin Franklin and his friends needed guidance in formulating their first order of books for the fledgling Library Company of Philadelphia, they went to James Logan, described in the Library Company meeting minutes of 29 March 1732 as "a Gentleman of universal Learning, and the best Judge of Books in these Parts." For their purposes of forming a library for intellectual advancement, Logan was the best judge in all of colonial America. His bibliophilic passion was as much for the contents of the books as for the aesthetic beauty of their bindings and printing.

James Logan was born in Lurgan, Ireland, on 20 October 1674, the son of Isabel Hume Logan and Patrick Logan, a Scottish Quaker schoolmaster. Educated by his father and...