Franklin's Reception at the Court of France 1778 by John Smith
date: label: date made
content: ca 1869
name: label: depicted
content: Franklin, Benjamin
label: publisher
content: Smith, John
notes: label: Description
content: This copy of an earlier lithograph depicts Benjamin Franklin, the American Minister at the Court of France, receiving a laurel wreath from Countess Diana Polignac. Amid the elegant finery of the French aristocracy, Franklin is easily identifiable, clothed simply in a brown suit.
label: Description
content: The image of a frugal, industrious, unpretentious republican American was something Franklin cultivated. He owned more than one of these “Quaker” or “ditto” suits, made of plum-colored silk. The Museum owns one of these suits (2012.0187.001), which Franklin wore in Paris during the year of the signing of the Treaty of Alliance.
label: Description
content: The event depicted is a celebration after the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance, which was signed February 6, 1778, in Paris. These agreements established a commercial alliance that provided financial aid and authorized military support for the American colonies during the Revolutionary War. The celebration of the treaties took place ten days later at Versailles Palace.
label: Description
content: The flatly drawn members of the French court (from left to right) include: Duchesse Jules de Polignac, Princesse Marie Therese Louise de Savoie-Carignan Lamballe (holding flowers), Comtesse Diana Polignac (holding wreath), Comte de Vergennes, Mme. Campan, Comtesse de Neuilly, Marie-Antoinette, Queen Consort of Louis XVI (seated), King Louis XVI, and Princesse Elizabeth. As a popular celebrity diplomat, Franklin was a favorite with the ladies and spent much of his time with the socially and intellectually elite. This large print was probably produced for municipal buildings, upper -class homes, or businesses, and perhaps the more affluent academies or schools.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
topic: label: Subject
content: Costume
label: Subject
content: Architecture, Historic Residences
label: Subject
content: Furnishings
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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content: NMAH Reception Suite
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content: Art
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content: Peters Prints
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content: Domestic Furnishings
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Peters, Harry T.. America on Stone
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.60.2596
label: catalog number
content: 60.2596
label: accession number
content: 228146
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: image: 18 1/2 in x 26 3/8 in; 46.99 cm x 66.9925 cm