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(FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN.) Print depicting Benjamin Franklin.
FRANKLIN "IN CONGRESS" WITH COLUMBIA (FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN.) Print depicting Benjamin Franklin. Color-printed aquatint, platemark 245 x 325 mm; minor soiling and marginal foxing, remnants of mounts and marginal tape repairs on verso; early manuscript caption "francklin" in lower right corner. [France?], circa 1788-1790
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Notes: An explicit image of Franklin, in his trademark fur cap and robe, in flagrante delicto with a nude woman wearing a necklace and feathered head-dress, possibly an allegorical figure of Columbia. A liberty cap on a pole appears to rest on the bed behind them.
The paper bears a watermark reading "AVUERGNE 1788" (sic), in a style similar to that used by Auvergne papermaker D. Tamizier during this period (see Heawood, Monumenta Chartæ Papyraceæ, plates 458-459). Auvergne, France has been a famous site of paper production for centuries. The use of Auvergne paper would not, in itself, prove that the print was made in France, as the paper was widely exported. However, in conjunction with the French spelling of the manuscript caption, the stylistic similarity to other French erotica from the late 18th century, and Franklin's popularity in France, a French origin seems likely.
No other example of this print has been traced. The artist and engraver remain unknown, and the date is only presumed to be between the 1788 watermark date and Franklin's death in 1790. Not found in the 1906 NYPL catalogue of Franklin images, or in the 2006 Christie's France catalogues of the Nordmann erotica collection.
Encased in a 20th-century gilt modesty frame with hinged cover that hides all but Franklin's head. -
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June 5, 2008 10:30 AM EDT
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