本杰明·富兰克林会很感激的.
当这位著名的殖民地企业家, journalist, statesman and American Founding Father donated 50 pounds sterling to the fledgling 华盛顿学院 in 1789 to buy books for the school’s library, he probably hadn’t envisioned that some of those books still would be available to the College’s students and faculty 231 years later.
感谢校友杰斯·科斯塔最近的捐赠，82届的W&J has taken significant steps to preserve the five books that remain of that original Benjamin Franklin-funded collection.
“通过慷慨的捐赠, we were able to purchase custom handcrafted bespoke book boxes for all five volumes,凯利·赫尔姆说。, W大学档案保管员&克拉克家庭图书馆. “The new housing for each book will provide better protection from outside elements and degradation. Additionally, 盒子有一个统一的外观, allowing the books to be displayed for visitors and exhibits with the honor they deserve.”
W&我的前任, 华盛顿学院, acquired the books to start its library only eight years after the school was established in the southwestern reaches of the Commonwealth. When word was received of Franklin’s donation – which would amount to roughly $8,000 today, the Academy sent its own David Redick to Philadelphia to acquire the books and bring them back.
The last remaining books of that collection offer no light reading, though. 其中包括:“透视绘画的艺术变得简单。, 对于那些以前没有数学知识的人来说,——詹姆斯·弗格森, F.R.S (1778); “Physical and Chemical Essays; Translated from the Original Latin of Sir Torbern Bergman…,，由埃德蒙·卡伦翻译, M.D. (1784); “A Fragment on Government; being An Examination of what is delivered, 论一般政府的主题, in the Introduction to Sir William Blackstone’s Commentaries” (1776); “Element of Geometry. 包含前六个主要命题的, 以及欧几里得的第十一卷和第十二卷,” by John Bonnycastle (1789); and “The Philosophical Dictionary: or, 现代哲学家对形而上学的看法, 道德及政治科目. 四卷本. 卷1”(1786年).
Costa, the donor, says he wanted to preserve the books as a way to give back to W&他在那里接受了良好的文科教育.
“I just love books,” he says of his interest in the Ben Franklin collection. “当我看着那些书的时候, and you think of where those books have been and the minds those books have inspired, 太神奇了. 它们是澳门葡京博彩软件[W .&J] had. 有机会资助这个项目真是太好了.”
“I want students 100 years from now to get the same joy from those books that I did,Costa继续说道. “我希望通过我的捐赠将这种快乐传递下去. 它们显示了澳门葡京博彩软件去过的地方和要去的地方.”
Costa recalls a specific note hand-written into the margin of “A Fragment on Government…,” presumably by a student during the early days of 华盛顿学院. 他说，这张纸条给他带来了快乐.
It reads: “Good Lord was the author of this incomprehensible stuff in Bedlam or out of it when he wrote this.”
“I read that and started laughing, thinking of that 1700s smart-aleck comment,” Costa says. “Someone today may use different words but would say the same thing. 澳门葡京博彩软件都是学生，澳门葡京博彩软件都有同样的经历.”
赫尔姆同意科斯塔的观点.
“An important part of my job is to preserve not only the papers and documents that pertain to W&不仅是历史，还有书，”赫尔姆说. “We have a large collection of rare books that date back hundreds of years before the College’s founding – our oldest is from 1491 – and these five volumes are the cornerstone of our rare books and special collections.”
卡罗琳·坎贝尔-戈尔登补充道, vice president for development and alumni engagement: “The special collection provided by Benjamin Franklin is an institutional treasure. We appreciate the gifts made toward the preservation of these books, which will help to ensure the collection can be shared with future generations of the W&J family.”
