4 Ben Franklin, Printer

Chapter 4 Ben Franklin, Printer As Ben had expected, James did not try to track him down. Ben couldn't find printing work in New York, though. He went on to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The runaway apprentice made half the trip by boat. He walked the other fifty miles. Ben arrived in Philadelphia tired and dirty. His extra shirts and stockings were bulging out of his pockets. He was hungry, so he bought three penny rolls at a bakery.

Ben stuck two of the rolls under his arms. He stuffed the third into his mouth. As Ben walked along, a girl named Deborah Read saw him from her doorway. She burst out laughing at the sight. Ben rented a room from Debby's family. He found a job with a printer. Ben did so well that he was soon running the business. The governor of Pennsylvania saw Ben's printing work. He was impressed. The governor offered to help set Ben up in business. If Ben

would visit England to buy printing supplies, the governor promised, he would pay the bills. LONDON

The eighteen-year-old printer was thrilled by the offer. He sailed in late 1724, and reached London on Christmas Eve. But the governor had been all talk. He never sent the money. Ben was stranded in England, 3,000 miles from home. But Ben made the best of things. He found work at a London printing house. During his year and a half in England, he learned more about printing. He also met famous scientists and authors. In 1725, at the age of only nineteen, he wrote and printed a booklet about religion.

For fun, he swam in the Thames River. Once he swam more than three miles on a bet. As crowds watched him swim, Ben had an idea. He would stay in England to run a swimming school. Fortunately for America, he changed his mind. In the fall of 1726, Ben returned to Philadelphia. For a while he worked for a printer. Then in 1728 he went into the printing business for himself. The next year, he began to publish his own newspaper. It was called the Pennsylvania Gazette. Ben was its editor, printer, and star reporter. He drew one of the first cartoons to appear in an American newspaper. His paper was also one of the first to print a map with an article.

PRINTING IN COLONIAL TIMES THE COMPOSER LAYS THE TYPE OUT ON A COMPOSING STICK, THEN PLACES IT IN A FRAME CALLED A GALLEY. THE GALLEYS ARE GIVEN TO THE STONEMAN, WHO COMBINES THEM TIGHTLY TOGETHER ON A FORM. THE FORM IS GIVEN TO THE PRESSMEN, WHO SET IT ON THE STONE. THEN INK IS BEATEN ONTO THE TYPE WITH MALLETS. WET PAPER IS PLACED ON THE TYMPAN, SECURED BY THE FRISKET, AND FOLDED OVER THE INKED TYPE.