Bogus prison quote
Sharp-eyed Alabamian Karen Hedwig Backman caught a bogus Franklin quote unknown to me: Safety without choice is prison. Her Letter to the Editor came to the defense with the classic alternative. Congratulations!
BF’s Most Generous Letter Finalist: on Swimming
A Letter to My Son, Barry — I was delighted to learn tonight your friend (who had never learned to swim) was letting you introduce him to the water. He’s lucky to have you as a teacher. Dr. Franklin had a friend in England in that same situation, and wrote him what I think is …
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Bumping into Franklin in the Theodore Roosevelt Papers
President Theodore Roosevelt (TR) arranged for the Library of Congress to have his papers. Joseph Bucklin Bishop, New York newspaperman and for a time apparently literary executor of the papers, was among the first to be given permission to view these documents. Shortly after publishing his work, Mr. Bishop was amazed at the volume of …
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Franklin Square (DC) Renovation
Franklin Square in Washington, DC is undergoing a renovation in 2020. The idea to move the statue of Benjamin Franklin from Pennsylvania Avenue strikes me very favorably, and I’ll use this page to collect links and information. See Also June 2020: Franklin Square to Close August 2020: Tree Removal August 2020: Opinion: Move the Statue …
From One Statue to Another
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, …
Surviving Autocracy
Note: I see Franklin’s comment that the United States was “A Republic – if you can keep it” almost daily, in one place or another. Everything about Masha Gessen’s book is in line with Dr. Franklin’s admonition, so I’m posting my GoodReads review here. – MCM Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen The title comes from …
Hopkinson Family Archives
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 …
Franklin and the Folger Library
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 …
George Whitfield
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 …
Second Stained Glass
As a paired window with my Franklin and Bamboo, I recently completed another panel with the same elements. This 18 x 18 panel is intended for the Guntzels’ home in Clinton, Iowa: Diane Guntzel drew the central portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Instagram Post View this post on Instagram This 18 x 18 panel is intended …