State Library of Pennsylvania - Benjamin Franklin

Describes the history and contents of the General Assembly, Rare Books Collection at the State Library of Pennsylvania. The original colleciton was ordered from England by the clerk of Pennsylvania's General Assembly, Benjamin Franklin. Includes many photographs of the items in the collection, as well as an "Abbreviated list of titles from the General Assembly, Rare Books Collection" in the Appendix. Also includes bibliographical references.

A history and description of the State Library of Pennsylvania at its 220th anniversary. Acknowledges the Benjamin Franklin's "participation was on a technical basis only, as that of a clerk who was requested to order some books." Continues by sketching the subsequent history of the Library. Describes the organization and mission of the Library. Written in fulfillment of requirements for a 'Library in Society' course at the Drexel Institute of Technology, Graduate School of Library Science, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Sketch of Benjamin Franklin's career as a mason that was written for the celebration of Franklin's bicentennial. Includes facsimiles from original manuscript sources and lengthy quotations from published accounts and documents relating to Franklin's involvement with freemasonry. The text, however, does point out that "for some reason, Franklin in his writings and correspondence is singularly silent upon the subject of Freemasonry .... There is not a word about his Masonic life to be found in his Autobiography, or in any of his other letters that have come down to us; almost every other subject is touched upon in his voluminous correspondence except such as relate to the Craft." (page 105) Includes detailed account of a Masonic memorial service held for Franklin at his grave on 19 April 1906.

Writing in response to the reports of and commentary on the recent masssacre of Native Americans in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania -- and especially to Benjamin Franklin's 'A Narrative of the Late Massacres' -- Thomas Barton defends the actions of the Paxton Boys, who carried out the killings. His argument includes characterizations of the Philadelphia Quakers who are not, he argues, as pacifistic as they claim to be. Barton ends the pamphlet by asking his reader to advise the "visionary Quakers and Don Quixotes" that they should hear the complaints of the people and remove the Indians from the scene in order to restore peace, harmony, and good order in the colony.

Published in the bicentennial year of his birth, this volume describes Benjamin Franklin's numerous achievements in connection with fire. Particularly highlighted are: his role in the establishment of a fire company in Philadelphia; the invention of the 'Franklin stove,' an efficient wood-burning stove; his observations on fire retardant construction methods seen in Paris, France; and his involvement in the establishment of a fire insurance cooperative "The Philadelphia Contributionship" in Philadelphia. The pamphlet is interleaved with illustrations and portraits. It includes facsimiles of newspaper announcements.

Reprinted from the "Alumni register" of the University of Pennsylvania, of February and March, 1906, this article consists of a numbered descriptive list of items in the university library that are related to Benjamin Franklin. The items include a painting, engravings, manuscripts, Franklin imprints, and related documents. Reprint includes J. G. Rosengarten's 'Franklin and the University.'

A series of 20 photographs taken in December 2005 that show the state of construction in the new Rare Books and Special Collections area at the State Library of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA. (Please note: this is a 25.5 MB item and will take several minutes to download, especially on slower speed connections.)