Portrait of Benjamin Franklin set into a gold frame with ribbon surmount, the foliate pierced and enameled border set with enameled urns and basket decorated with seed pearls, the reverse glazed to reveal the counter-enamel. The portrait is one of five extant versions and the jeweled setting is most likely contemporary and commissioned so that the image could be worn as a pendant. Weyler painted this portrait as a part of a series of miniatures he called “Panthéon Iconographique,” which included famous men he wanted to preserve for posterity in enamel. Franklin was the most popular of the series’ subjects. The original portrait for which the enamel was based on has not been traced, but it is believed to be a pastel taken from life., See accession file for more information about provenance., Purchase of the Library Company, 2013.
See LCP AR [Annual Report] 1991 p. 26-31., 891 a: Thimble with monogram JES. Bottom decorated with leaves. 891 b. Cameo of George Washington. Italian. 891 c. Back of locket or watch, monogram LSV, 14k gold. 891 d. Small metal plate with monogram C.S.C. 891 e. Token from the South Carolina Society’s Centennial celebration in 1857. Obverse reads: 130 Rich W. Cogdell was admitted a member of the So. Ca. Society, May 2nd 1826. Reverse depicts a hands holding three leaves, reads: Centenl. Celebrn. of So. Ca. Society Mar. 28, 1857. Posteritate. 891 f. Mourning pendant with leather case. Back of pendant reads: John Stevens died June 1, 1772 Aged 52. Mary Stevens died August 1st, 1782, Aged 56. Front has monument with two urns, reads “Rest in Peace” surrounded by trees. Surrounded by a blue border with gold flowers. 891 g. Cameo with neoclassical scene of two men and a women reaching to grab a horse, while a child with a dog sits at the bottom right corner. Italian. 891 h. Button with circular pattern, inscribed W to J. 891 i Clear-cut glass, 3-sided wax seal attached to an ornate (brass?) handle. Depicts: dove with olive branch, man with beard and helmet (Roman?), third side blank. 891 j. Small glass mosaic of beetle. Borders from outside to interior are dark blue, turquoise blue, red. Beetle is composed of gold, red, and green with a white background., Gift of Cordelia Hinkson Brown, Beverly Brown-Ruggia, and family in honor of Phil Lapsansky, 2012., Middle-class African American family active in the Philadelphia African American political, social, educational, and cultural community from the 1850s to the 20th century. The family was involved in several prominent local African American institutions, including the St. Thomas P.E. Church, Church of the Crucifixion, Central Presbyterian Church, the Colored Institute of Youth, and the Citizens Republican Club.
