This article by Mark Gresham is a nice overview of Franklin’s musical life. I especially like the YouTube link to the Mozart armonica piece (Adagio and Rondo in C Minor, K.617): Bruno Hoffman’s recording was my first recording of K. 617 and, half a century later, remains my favorite.
There’s an excellent story on BillyPenn.com introducing readers to Richard Armandi’s quest to recognize and celebrate the location of Franklin’s first Print Shop. Congratulations to all, and good luck! Rich also wrote in to share this insurance document from the Philadelphia Contributorship digital archives, registering his house at 139 Market Street on June 13, 1752. …
I’m thrilled to find this video recording of Madame Brillon’s sonata by Filament in Philadelphia, published in June 2025. The three movements were recorded at Old Swedes Church, Philadelphia, and feature Evan Few, violin with Elena Kauffman, viola da gamba and John Walthausen, harpsichord. The composer would have been at the harpsichord, and, as in …
In response to a correspondent, let’s say S.S. writing to M.M., I’ve located the letter from A.A. regarding fire protection. This document happens to be the source of a famous Franklin phrase, An ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure, which was the subject of another recent inquiry. Franklin wrote over the pseudonym …
Two similar documents have come up for auction recently. The second document is scheduled for auction in Ittigen, Switzerland on June 28, 2025. It certifies that John Backer Church owns five shares of the North American Land Company, signed by Robert Morris on May 28, 1795. (Invaluable Announcement) The first document is also a stock …
Continue reading ‘Temple’s Stock in the North American Land Company’ »
Maybe the most wonderful item I’ve seen come up for auction has appeared, coming up in California on July 3, 2025. It is this letter, pictured above, written by Benjamin Franklin to William Strahan on July 23, 1762. The full text of Franklin’s letter, as posted on the auction site, with some spacing, is: London, …
The Wikipedia page for William Temple Franklin, grandson of Benjamin, now has this unsourced paragraph: In addition to Théodore and Ellen, Temple Franklin had other children. He fathered a son, James William Franklin Sr., born on December 15, 1789, in Roaring River, North Carolina, who later married Nancy Amburgey and settled in Virginia, where he died in 1860. Temple …
NAPEX 2025 was held June 6-8 in McLean, Virginia. This event combines the national conventions for several philatelic societies as well as the Virginia Postal History Society. This year, one of three special themes, highlighted on the cover of its program, was “Celebrating the Semiquincentennial of Benjamin Franklin as First U.S. Postmaster General, 1775.” As …
I’m happy to announce and document the installation of another stained glass panel in honor of Franklin, Read With A Pen, installed May 26, 2025.– Martin Mangold, May 30, 2025 In May of 1760, Franklin was asked by his landlady’s daughter, Mary (“Polly”) Stevenson (1739-1795), how to become a philosopher. Polly was away from Craven …
Many thanks to Michael Geiger of San Diego for pointing out that the Franklin Gazette, Volume 16 #1, from Spring 2006, was posted here without page seven. This has been remedied on the Gazettes page, showing the completion of Philippe Alasseur’s article, “Franklin Abroad: The Americans at Passy and the Chalut Family Circle,” translated by …
