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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Grave and Tombstone of Benjamin Franklin, vintage postcard photo

Grave and Tombstone of Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, vintage postcard, photo

A vintage postcard of the grave and tombstone of Benjamin Franklin, located in Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Franklin tombstone is the large flat stone at the right next to the fence. The tombstone simply reads: "Benjamin and Deborah Franklin". As a young man of 22, Franklin had written what he had at that time intended to be the epitaph for his tombstone: "The Body of B. Franklin Printer; Like the Cover of an old Book, Its Contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms. But the Work shall not be wholly lost: For it will, as he believ'd, appear once more, In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and Amended By the Author." Franklin stated in his final will that the tombstone should simply be inscribed with his name and that of his wife.

Benjamin Franklin, born January 17, 1706, Boston, Massachusetts; died April 17, 1790, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; age 84.

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