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Early American Literature 37.2 (2002) 375



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Erratum


In the spirit of Benjamin Franklin himself, I would like to correct an erratum that appeared in my article "Franklin's Autobiography and the Credibility of Personality" (EAL 35:3). In the Autobiography, Franklin recalls fashioning a makeshift printing type out of lead at a time when there were no type-foundries in the colonies. In a parenthetical comment, I concluded that part of his resourcefulness lay in his ability to design type of lead rather than of more precious metals, but, in fact, a lead alloy would have been the standard material for type at this time. Rather, Franklin is resourceful because he is able to contrive such type without the typefounder's training and tools. How exactly he is able to accomplish this task, however, is something he never fully discloses to the reader.

 



Jennifer Jordan Baker
Yale University

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