Becoming Dr. Franklin: Benjamin Franklin's Science, Manuscript Circulation, And "Anti-Authorship" In Print

Early in his Autobiography Benjamin Franklin remarks, “Prose writing has been of great Use to me in the Course of my Life, and was a principal Means of my Advancement.” The statement has both literal and figurative dimensions: much of Franklin’s wealth derived from his success as a printer, and he wrote a significant amount of the content for some of the most lucrative products of his own press, such as the Poor Richard almanacs and the newspaper The Pennsylvania Gazette.