Benjamin Franklin, Craftsman

I like to think of Benjamin Franklin as a Bostonian. He was born in Boston in 1706, attended Boston Latin School and learned the printing trade in his brother’s shop. Yet it was Philadelphia, the city to which he moved as a young man, that became his adopted home and the place where he is most visibly honored.

Franklin arrived in Philadelphia in 1723 at the age of seventeen. He eventually established his own printing business and published the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard’s Almanack. Long before he became known as a scientist, diplomat and Founding Father, printing provided the foundation for his success and gave him a way to circulate his ideas.

Philadelphia is known for the sculptures and other works of public art found throughout the city. During a family vacation, we encountered this larger-than-life portrayal of Franklin operating a printing press. Created by Joseph Brown, Benjamin Franklin, Craftsman was commissioned by the Pennsylvania Freemasons and presented to the city in 1981.

The sculpture does not portray the elderly statesman familiar from portraits and currency. Instead, it remembers the ambitious young tradesman who left Boston and built a new life in Philadelphia. This is a fitting tribute to the work that began his remarkable journey.