Franklin's printing press in the Division of Graphic Arts, Smithsonian Institution – Historic Print
![Franklin's printing press in the Division of Graphic Arts, Smithsonian Institution, [between 1940 and 1970] — historic photograph](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/5b/5bfc3b1350c8-L.webp)
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Franklin's printing press in the Division of Graphic Arts, Smithsonian Institution comes to life in this historic photograph, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.
The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.
Franklin's printing press in the Division of Graphic Arts, Smithsonian Institution
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Rather than a portrait or a street scene, this picture shows a piece of equipment: a printing press associated with Benjamin Franklin and held by the Smithsonian Institution's Division of Graphic Arts. Franklin built much of his reputation at the press after he set up as a printer in Philadelphia in the 1720s, when he produced the *Pennsylvania Gazette* and *Poor Richard's Almanack*. Presses of that period were largely wooden screw machines, and the photograph invites a closer look at the tools that made printed words widely available. Dated somewhere between 1940 and 1970, it also records how museums of that era chose to display such objects.
| Created / published | [between 1940 and 1970] |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 photographic print. |
| Genre | Photographic prints 1940-1970. |
| Subjects | Franklin, Benjamin,--1706-1790--Associated objects. Printing presses--1750-1790. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,044 × 1,536 px · prints to 3 × 5 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-161684 |
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