Museum Collections

Benjamin Franklin represents America's prototypical self-made man, rising from humble tradesman to revolutionary thinker and world leader through a combination of hard work and thrift. In his Poor Richard's Almanack, published serially between 1732 and 1757, Franklin printed a steady offering of aphorisms and proverbs counseling industry and frugality, which captured the attention of a society bent on self-improvement. Beginning in the 1830s, Franklin's sayings were frequently printed, and imaginatively illustrated, on plates and mugs presented to children as a reward for good behavior and achievement.