A recent Vox video illustrates many of the historical points raised in The Wisdom of the Flock. There are a couple of historical inaccuracies but generally great information and a fun, well made video. I thought that I would share the link in case you are interested:
Historical characters often seem “one-dimensional” like cardboard cutouts. In addition to Ben, we tend to carry and perpetuate oversimplified and often incorrect stereotypes of many historical persons. This post explores some common misconceptions and the reasons why. We have already discussed in a prior post the stereotype of Ben Franklin as the “wise, corpulent, gouty…
Allegory is the expression of truths or generalizations about human existence by means of symbolic fictional figures, places or events.Many readers have asked me about the allegories used in The Wisdom of the Flock. The Featured image for this post is entitled “Unsolved Mystery”. It is by Marina Terauds. Marina was gracious enough to agree…
Continued from Part 1 Madame Helvétius was officially named Anne-Catherine de Ligniville. Her married name was Helvétius. But everyone (including Ben) called her Minette. This portrait by Louis-Michel van Loo does not have a clearly established date, but most likely pre-dates Franklin’s time in France. Here is a reproduction of a miniature of her (also younger): And…
Most of the characters portrayed in The Wisdom of the Flock were real people. A few had many likenesses made during their lifetime (e.g. Ben Franklin, Mesmer, and Marie Antoinette), but paintings, busts, ceramic medallions, and other likenesses were expensive. The were only readily available to rich people in the 1700’s. As I noted in…
Ben was born on January 17th, 1706 – or was he? According to most history books, Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17th, 1706 in Boston. However, you will sometimes see this birthdate with the addendum of N.S. or New Style. What does that mean? Well, there was a change from the (old) Julian calendar…
It’s natural to think of “olden times” as being less colorful and alive than our current age. When we think of people from the 1700’s (or any prior era for that matter), they seem to us to live in monotone black and white, without the complexity or vibrancy of present day figures. Compounding that bias…
I have been researching and writing The Wisdom of the Flock for many years now. Along the way, I have been searching for an image of Marianne Davies regularly – and in vain. Some characters portrayed in the book are easily recognizable today as they were in their own time. Such famous personages include Ben…
Portraits of Ben Franklin We are all familiar with Ben’s portrait on the 100-dollar bill: This image comes from a H.B. Hall engraving of the Joseph-Siffred Duplessis portrait of an older Benjamin Franklin – and has been used on the $100 bill from 1996 onward. But Franklin was also one of the most recognizable…
On October 26th, 1776, Benjamin Franklin, along with his grandsons Temple (age 16) and Benny (age 7), boarded the USS Reprisal to be transported to France. There, Ben would assume the position of the unofficial American ambassador to the French court of Louis XVI. Maintaining the support of France against the British was key to the success of the American Revolution…