Martin Mangold, July 11, 2026 “Polly” was the common nickname for Mary, the daughter of Margaret Stevenson, who was Franklin’s landlady on Craven Street when during his adult years in London. Franklin and the young lady had a lifelong friendship and correspondence. It was to Polly that Franklin penned his advice to “read with a …
The Gazettes page of this website lists each issue of the Friends of Franklin’s quarterly newsletter from 1989 to 2013, with a link to a PDF file for each issue. The overview list of articles and topics on this page is now complete for all issues. This came from a personal need, to confirm whether …
Martin Mangold, April 6, 2026 I had a good feeling from the trailer. The production elements were wonderful. It strikes a respectful tone towards Franklin and George Whitefield, the itinerant preacher that Franklin befriended. The movie delivers a deeply satisfying depiction of the episode Franklin described in his Autobiography: He had a loud and clear …
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 …
