Selim Franklin, Esquire (1814–1885) was an American pioneer, auctioneer, real estate agent, chess master, and Canadian legislator.
In 1850 Selim and Edward Franklin ran a zinc-front store on Clay Street Wharf selling mining equipment and supplies.
[6] In 1851 they established Selim & Edward Franklin Real Estate and Auctioneers on 77 Battery Street near Long Wharf.
[9] The Annals of San Francisco (1855) lists the Franklin House as one of five more upscale hotels in the city.
[13] Franklin & Company ran full-page ads in the daily newspaper, The British Colonist, to list items for auction: real estate, furniture, cattle, and vehicles.
[14][15] Because they were British-born, they were appointed by Governor James Douglas as the first government auctioneers in Victoria and British Columbia.
[16] Selim was an advisor to Queen Victoria in the 1859 Oregon boundary dispute over the San Juan Islands.
[22] In 1881, Scientific American listed Franklin as a Trustee of the Geographical Society of the Pacific, based in San Francisco.