Benjamin Franklin Epitaph

Benjamin Franklin wrote an epitaph in his youth comparing the body of B. Franklin, printer, to the cover of an old book with its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding, lying as food for worms, yet declaring that the work would not be lost because it would appear once more in a new and more elegant edition corrected and improved by the author. This epitaph was not intended to be used, and his nearby gravestone was prepared in exact accordance with the instructions contained in his will. His gravesite was later restored by the Poor Richard Club of Philadelphia through the generosity of Howard C. Story in memory of his parents Edward A. and Mary Elizabeth Story.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · United States