Philadelphia
Philadelphia was the largest city in the American colonies and the place where both the Declaration and Common Sense were printed. Franklin arrived there as a runaway apprentice and spent the rest of his life turning it into a city with a library, a university, a fire brigade and a postal service.
The Free Library was founded in 1891 and its special collections include early American imprints, maps and children's literature. For the revolutionary period, the Library Company of Philadelphia, founded by Franklin in 1731, is the other essential collection.
A library to check
- Free Library of Philadelphia — catalogues and digital collections, open to readers online
Books connected to Philadelphia
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin — Benjamin Franklin, 1791. The founding text of American self-improvement, written by a man who knew exactly what he was doing.
- Common Sense — Thomas Paine, 1776. The most effective political pamphlet in English, and a lesson in how to write for a crowd.
A note on accuracy
We describe literary connections and public collections, not street addresses, opening hours or ticket prices. Those change and we cannot verify them for every reader. Follow the institution's own site for current visiting information.