« October 2005 | Main | December 2005 »

Benjamin Franklin: 300 Years Later and Still Current

Why, after 300 years, are Benjamin Franklin's insights and achievements still relevant to our times? Emma Lapsansky, curator of the Quaker Collection, and a panel of Franklin scholars will address this and other questions on a program on Wednesday, November 30, in The Montgomery Auditorium of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Posted by John Anderies at November 19, 2005 01:03 PM

David Fox, November 29, 4 pm

The Franklin Speaker Series continues Tuesday, November 29 at 4 pm, Magill Library, Philips Wing. David Fox, Director of the Penn Reading Project at the University of Pennsylvania, will speak about the renowned first-year reading program, which this year featured Franklin's Autobiography. Free and open to the public.

Posted by John Anderies at November 19, 2005 12:50 PM

Limited Hours, Friday, November 18

Special Collections will be open 9:00 am - 12:30 pm only on Friday, November 18, in order to accommodate a staff retreat.

Posted by John Anderies at November 13, 2005 06:11 PM

Answer Key to the Franklin Rebus

Read on for the answer to Benjamin Franklin's rebus, or word puzzle: "The Art of Making Money Plenty In every Man's Pocket: By Doctor Franklin."

At this time when the major complaint is that money is so scarce it must be an act of kindness to instruct the moneyless how they can reinforce their pockets. I will acquaint you with the true secret of money catching, the certain way to fill empty purses and how to keep them always full. Two simple rules well observed will do the business. First, let honesty and labor be thy constant companions. Second, spend one penny every day less than thy clear gains. Then shall thy pockets soon begin to thrive, thy creditors will never insult thee, nor want oppress, nor hunger bite, nor nakedness freeze thee; the whole hemisphere will shine brighter, and pleasure spring up in every corner of thy heart. Now therefore embrace these rules and be Happy.

Posted by John Anderies at November 3, 2005 12:51 PM

Lapsansky's Back to Africa published by Penn State

Back to Africa : Benjamin Coates and the colonization movement in America, 1848-1880, edited by Emma Lapsansky-Werner, Professor of History and Curator of the Quaker Collection, and Margaret Hope Bacon, noted Quaker author and former Haverford Gest Fellow, has recently been published by Penn State University Press. Back to Africa, which draws on the papers of Benjamin Coates from Haverford Special Collections, has been called "essential reading for every student of black studies, abolitionism, Quaker history, and nineteenth-century reform in general."

Posted by John Anderies at November 1, 2005 11:37 AM