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 …
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 …
I was delighted and proud to receive word that earlier today, November 14, 2024, the building at 27-28 Queen Street in Derby was added to the National Heritage List for England by Historic England, designating it as a building of special architectural or historic interest, and giving it legal protection. This building has been the …
Following up on Bumping into Franklin on the West Wing, I found a sweet connection to a dear friend. The seated statuette is a copy of the James Earle Fraser statue at the headquarters of the Franklin Life Insurance Company, Springfield, Illinois, dedicated in 1949. The Sangamon County Historical Society presents the statue on SangamonLink, …
The Family Archives of the Hopkinson family came to auction in June 2020. One item is a book given by Dr. Franklin to Francis Hopkinson, with this commentary from the auction catalog: Thomas Hopkinson (1709 – 1751), father of Francis Hopkinson (1737 – 1791) , worked with Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790) on several of …
These are two of my favorite topics: Franklin and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. The two overlap in many ways, but I want to start with a quote of the library’s founder that I came across for the first time today. Henry Folger traced his line back to Abiah’s father, Peter. Henry once …
The removing of the statue of George Whitfield from the University of Pennsylvania campus is disturbing to those of us unaware of Whitfield’s “advocating for slavery.” The mention in this Press Release reads: “Whitefield’s connection to Penn stems from a church meeting house he owned at 4th and Arch streets in Philadelphia, which was purchased …
Frank Romano has given me seven minutes of dense happiness by this breezy collection of Franklin tributes. Thanks! Frank Romano Video See Also Original Story on WhatTheyThink, published July 10, 2020. Museum of Printing in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
I’m looking forward to Edward J. Larson’s book, Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership, which was released on February 11, 2020. I found my copy on the shelf in a wonderful bookstore (Four Seasons Books in Shepherdstown, West Virginia) a few days ago. George Washington knew how to say goodbye, as seen in the profound …
