Williamsburg Regional Library is one of 40 libraries selected to host the exhibit during its four year U.S. tour.
The exhibit gives audiences the opportunity to explore and to talk about Franklin's life, his contributions to the founding of this country, and his high standards for work, citizenship and contribution to community. It will look at his background, his self-education and his philosophical and religious beliefs and their effect on his work and life. It will show Franklin in the context of the eighteenth century and as a product of his times — a brilliant and rather unconventional product of his times — rather than as the venerable bespectacled and grandfatherly figure with whom we are all familiar.
Exhibition content is arranged in thematic sections showing Franklin in the Boston of his youth, Franklin's family and personal life, as well as the years when he built his business as Philadelphia's premier printer. The exhibit also looks at Franklin's commitment to public service, his interests in medicine and public health and his work in science and philosophy. Franklin's political career in England, France and the United States, and his contributions to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and other major documents are the subjects of the final two sections of the exhibit.
The exhibit will be on display at the James City County Library, 7770 Croaker Road, Norge from May 6 through June 19, 2009 during normal library hours. The exhibit is free of charge.
Programs associated with this exhibit are made possible through a grant from the Friends of Williamsburg Regional Library.
Download a printable copy of the program schedule here.
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This portrait is widely accepted as the earliest known
likeness of Benjamin Franklin. While it was being done,
Franklin was probably approaching retirement from his
printing business, by which time he had already acquired an
ample fortune.
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