"Benjamin Franklin at French Court", Antique Hand-Colored Engraving (19th c.). Framed. Size: 27.5'' x 39.25'', 70 x 100 cm (image); 35.5'' x 46.5'', 90 x 118 cm (frame). Provenance: Ilene Wood Collection. Note: A large, formal engraving of Benjamin Franklin at the Court of France in 1778. Based on a painting by Baron Jolly from Brussels, the image shows Franklin surrounded by the gentlemen and ladies of Louis XVI's court, with one of the ladies crowning Franklin with a laurel wreath. The French court, the most elegant in the world, is shown off with its architectural and sartorial splendor, which contrasts to the simple Quaker style dress of Franklin. The print symbolizes the "Genius" and "recognition of [the United States'] advent among the Nations," and it reflects the growing sense of stature by Americans in the middle of the nineteenth century. This is one of the most attractive of the large historical prints issued in the mid-nineteenth century.

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