Benjamin Franklin, printer's sample for the World's Inventors souvenir album (A25) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

This small printer's sample for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes presents Benjamin Franklin, a figure adorned with symbols of enlightenment and ingenuity. His spectacles, perched upon his nose, immediately denote wisdom and keen observation, an attribute linked to the pursuit of knowledge since the early Renaissance. The cravat, a cascade of white at his throat, echoes purity of thought, but also recalls the elaborate ruffs of the Elizabethan era, emblems of status and intellect. This motif of refined elegance, indicative of the ruling class, finds a distant cousin in the draped fabrics of classical statuary, used to convey nobility and sophistication. Consider how Franklin, through such considered portraiture, becomes an archetype—a recurring figure embodying the spirit of innovation. Just as the ancient Greeks idealized their heroes, we, too, seek to immortalize figures like Franklin, imbuing them with the weight of collective memory and the power to inspire across generations. This is cultural memory at play.