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…
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…