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Benjamin Franklin Collection
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Benjamin Franklin was one of the most prominent of the founders and early political figures and statesmen of the United States despite never holding national elective office. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Franklin became a newspaper editor, printer, and merchant in Philadelphia, Pa. He also played a major role in establishing both the University of Pennsylvania and the Franklin and Marshall College. Franklin had several extramarital liaisons, including that which produced his illegitimate Loyalist son, William Franklin, who became the colonial governor of New Jersey.
The collection consists of selected correspondence and documents, both original and copies, of Benjamin Franklin and his son William Franklin. Correspondents include Francis Childs, Robert Cochran, Humphrey Marshall, and William Robertson. There is a fragment of a letter by Franklin to his children, dated 14 May 1771, from Passy (France). In addition, there is a preliminary sketch in pencil of Franklin made by Justus Chevillet for his 1778 portrait engraving, as well as three invoices addressed to Joseph Wharton from Franklin & Hall printers covering work done from 1748 to 1765. A document (1771) signed by William Franklin appoints William Paterson as solicitor and counselor at law for the Province of New Jersey.
Arranged by accession number.
The collection was formed as a result of a Departmental practice of combining into one collection material of various accessions relating to a particular person, family, or subject.
Various AM.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
Finding aid written by James Flannery on February 17, 2006. Folder Inventory added by Hilde Creager (2015) in 2012.
No appraisal information is available.
People
Place
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2006
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
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