Dr. Franklin goes to Washington, D.C.

On March 23rd, the Rosenbach’s first printing, first edition, of the 1733 Poor Richard Almanac travelled to the White House for a Franklin birthday celebration hosted by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.

The Rosenbach’s Board Chairman Bernard Newman and his wife Judy represented the museum at the dinner. Mr. Newman, who was elected Chairman in 2005, is President and CEO of Philadelphia-based Newman & Company, Inc., a 90-year-old family paperboard manufacturing business. Mr. Newman was able to speak with the President at length about the museum and had a wonderful evening overall–he was much impressed by the staff work here that made it possible.

Additional Franklin artifacts traveling to the White House included a 1787 printing of the Constitution of the United States (from the American Philosophical Society), a miniature portrait of Louis XVI owned by Franklin (also from the American Philosophical Society), a tankard owned by Franklin (from the Franklin Institute), and Franklin’s Cato Major, often considered to be the finest example of Franklin’s printing (from the Library Company of Philadelphia).

Further information about this event can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032101998.html