Benjamin Franklin was a well-known printer in 18th century America. Franklin started as a printshop apprentice, then became a writer and, a publisher. Franklin was motivated to become both a writer and a printer through having read extensively from his childhood. In his autobiography, Franklin mentions, “[f]rom a child I was fond of reading, and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books” (Franklin 15). Franklin states that his love for great books eventually led him to establish the achievements listed in his autobiography (Amacher 20). At the age of 12 or 13, his first work was immortalized in print; Franklin wrote two ballads to celebrate the occasion (Wright 9). He learned how to write great works by reading classic authoritative books from his childhood.
Franklin wrote articles under the pseudonym Silence Dogood (Green 4) for his brother’s newspaper The New-England Courant. It was the third newspaper in Boston, first printed and published in 1721 by James Franklin, who was his elder brother (Thomas 234). James’s friends reputed positively about Benjamin’s articles (Green 4) and he became famous under the name of Silence Dogood. Two years later, Franklin took over the job of publishing the newspaperwhen his brother went to jail for charges of contempt (Thomas 236). The Courant continued to be published under the name of Benjamin Franklin until 1726 (Green 4).
Literacy in 18th century America was closely linked to Western Europe, and especially Great Britain. Most books in America were imported from England (Madison, 4). Meanwhile, Benjamin Franklin became a founder of the American Philosophical Society, which was created for “promoting useful knowledge among the British plantation in America” (Tanford 16). He published a book, Poor Richard, which sold around 10,000 copies a year, despite the competition with British publications on the market – another achievement of American literacy, (Madison 5). Although Franklin is one of the great founders of America, he also experienced many failures in the publishing industry. In 1741, he published one of the earliest magazines, called “The General Magazine.” However, it failed after only six issues (Thomas 448). He also saw achievements in his life as a printer; at the age of twenty-one years old, was he became the manager of a small printing office in Philadelphia. Since there was no type-foundry in America during the time, Franklin supplied the mold and the matrices to the office (Eliot 834). In his autobiography, Franklin mentions “I also engraved several things on occasion; I made the ink; I was warehouse man and everything, and in short quite a factotum” (Eliot, 834). Franklin took pride in founding the Library Company (Morgan 56) and in 1731, he created a discussion group called Junto, created with the purpose of social, economic, intellectual, and political advancement. The members of the group drew up the Library Company’s article of agreement (Wolf 2nd 5). Thus, the Library Company of Philadelphia became the Mother of North American Subscription Libraries (Morgan 56). Later on, the establishment of the Library Company supported Franklin in his political endeavors (Morgan 57).
Works Cited
Amacher, Richard E. Benjamin Franklin. New York: New Haven College and University Press. 1962. Print
Elito, Charles W. “Benjamin Franklin: As Printer and Philosopher.” Science 23.596 (Jun. 1906). 833-839. Web.
Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography & Other Writings Benjamin Franklin. Toronto: Bantham,1982. Print
Green, James N. and Peter Stallybrass. Benjamin Franklin: Writer and Printer. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Pr. 2006. Print
Madison, Charles A. Book Publishing in America. New York, Toronto and London: McGraw -Hill Book Company. 1966. Print
Morgan, Edmund. Benjamin Franklin. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2002. Print.
Tanford, Charles. Ben Franklin stilled the Waves -An Informal History of Pouring oil on Water with Reflection on The Ups and Downs of Scientific Life in General. Durham and London: Duke University Press. 1989. Print
Thomas, Isaiah. The History of Printing in America with A Biography of Printers & An Account of Newspapers. New York: Weathervane Books. 1970. Print
Wolf, Edwin 2nd. At the instance of Benjamin Franklin: A Brief History of the Library Company. Philadelphia: The Library Company of Phil. 1976. Print.
Wright, Esmond. Benjamin Franklin And American Independence. London: Lawrence Verry Inc. 1966. Print