|
A number of visible evidence of Benjamin Franklin's ingenuity are preserved in local libraries and museums. Some of the more
important of these are here grouped. Nos. 1 and 4, electrical generators, are owned by the Franklin Institute. No. 3, a combination
chair and step-ladder, and 5, the model of a stove, are treasured at the rooms of the Philosophical Society, of which Franklin
was a founder. No. 2, an insulated stool, and 6, a beautifully made air-pump, may be seen in the museum of Independence Hall.
Nos. 7 and 8, a china punch keg and wine glass are exhibited in the collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
These were presented to Franklin in Paris by the Count d'Artois. Nos. 9, a wooden flat-iron holder, and 10, a burning glass,
are also at the last-named institution. The Library Company of Philadelphia has a duplicate of No. 1. A priceless collection
of Franklin papers possessed by the Philosophical Society have been cataloged in a series of painstaking volumes, by Dr. I.
Minis Hays, the Librarian.
|
