Figure 1.

Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia, L.L.D., F.R.S., in between 1763 and 1785, during the period when he carried out his experiments of oil on water (by Edward Fisher, 1730–ca.1785). Print shows Benjamin Franklin, three-quarter-length portrait, seated at desk, looking to his right at an electrical device; in his left hand are papers upon which he is taking notes, and visible through a window to his left is lightning striking a building (Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, DC).