[Benjamin Franklin, half-length portrait, facing right]

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Benjamin Franklin appears here in a half-length view turned toward the right, the sort of composition engravers favored for portraits meant to be reproduced in books and periodicals. This engraving dates to 1879, a time when Franklin's likeness was in steady demand. He had been dead for nearly a century by then, and American printmakers had long leaned on his image, drawn from earlier paintings and portraits, to stand for the nation's founding ideals of practical wisdom and public service. Looking at the print today, one can note how the engraver's fine lines build up the texture of his coat and face, a labor-intensive method that predates photographic reproduction.

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