Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, in the olden time : being a collection of memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the city and its inhabitants, and of the earliest settlements of the inland part of Pennsylvania ... . in 1790; thefirst stone was laid August 31, 1789. A tablet was inserted inthe building with this inscription: Be it remembered, in honor of the Philadelphia youth (then chieflv artificers), that in MDCCXXXI they cheerfully, at the instance of Benjamin Franklin, one of their number, instituted the Philadelphia Library, which, though small at first, is become highly valuable a
Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, in the olden time : being a collection of memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the city and its inhabitants, and of the earliest settlements of the inland part of Pennsylvania ... . in 1790; thefirst stone was laid August 31, 1789. A tablet was inserted inthe building with this inscription: Be it remembered, in honor of the Philadelphia youth (then chieflv artificers), that in MDCCXXXI they cheerfully, at the instance of Benjamin Franklin, one of their number, instituted the Philadelphia Library, which, though small at first, is become highly valuable and extensively useful, and which the walls of this edifice are now destined to contain and preserve; the first stone of whose foundation was here placed the thirty-first day of August, 1789. This inscription was prepared by Franklin, with the exceptionof the reference to himself, which was inserted by the statue of Franklin, which occupies a niche in the front ofthe building, was given by William Bingham, who, in consul-tation with the directors, learned that Dr. Franklin wouldapprove of a gown for his dress and a Roman head. It wouldbe a curious inquiry to learn what successive distortions of some 1?. Libraries. 339 simple remark of the doctor resulted in this queer recipe for astatue. Mr. Bingham sent an order to Italy, accompanied witha bust belonging to the Pennsylvania Hospital and a drawing ofthe figure. The resultant statue, we are told, was regarded byhis contemporaries as showing a good likeness. It was said atthe time to have cost five hundred guineas. The Philadelphia Library passed through the Revolution with-out suffering any special detriment; both of the opposing partieshad the benefit of it. In August, 1774, it was ordered that thelibrarian furnish the gentlemen who are to meet in congress inthis city with such books as they may have occasion for duringtheir sitting, taking a receipt from them; and the British army-officers who occupied the city du
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublisherphila, bookyear1870
