May 01, 2026
Provided Image/Sotheby's
A collection of letters, books and broadsides printed by Ben Franklin (above) is being auctioned off next month through Sotheby's. A portion of the collection is being displayed Tuesday through Thursday at the Library Company of Philadelphia.
A huge collection of Benjamin Franklin artifacts is being auctioned off in pieces next month in New York City. But first, a portion of the collection is going on display in Philadelphia.
The 156-piece collection includes books, broadsides, letters and manuscripts, plus household goods such as an armchair and candlesticks. The items date from the late 1720s to the years after Franklin's death in 1790, according to Sotheby's, which is holding the auction on June 24.
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About 40 items from the collection will be on display Tuesday through Thursday at the Library Company of Philadelphia, which Franklin founded in 1731. The free exhibit mostly includes items focused on Franklin's ties to Philly.
"You can't think of Franklin without thinking of Philadelphia and vice versa," said Selby Kiffer, Sotheby's specialist for books and manuscripts. "So I think that's where he's appreciated. This material, much of it that originated in Philadelphia, it's now coming back. It's just a way of celebrating Franklin and Philadelphia during the 250th anniversary of the nation's birth."
The artifacts were collected over multiple decades by Jay T. Snider, former president of the Flyers and Spectacor and son of Flyers founder Ed Snider. The collection is estimated to be worth $3 million to $4.5 million.
Kiffer said Franklin items are fairly common among collectors. But a collection this extensive is rare.
"He worked as a printer for decades and, of course, he wrote himself, and he was a prolific correspondent. So lots of letters exist, although those are mostly in institutions," Kiffer said. "It's not as though you need to despair if you're interested in collecting Franklin, of not being able to find material, but to find material of this consistent quality and within the world of Franklin is highly unusual."
The collection includes a letter from the 1780s about July 4 celebrations, a naval appointment signed by Franklin while he was president of the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, documents on the establishment of the Library Company, early editions of "Poor Richard's Almanac," letters between Franklin and his friend Polly Stevenson and a three-part collection of Franklin's "Experiments and Observations on Electricity," which laid the groundwork for the lightening rod.
Broad collections focused on a single person also are unusual, Kiffer said, noting they most often are found among literature collectors. The items in Snider's collection highlight Franklin's attributes as a printer, diplomat, family man, scientist and cultural institutions founder. Franklin founded Pennsylvania Hospital, the University of Pennsylvania and the American Philosophical Society.
In that way, Kiffer said, Snider's collection is extensive thematically and in the types of materials available for auction.
"Franklin was involved in everything," Kiffer said. "So it's actually a very broad collection, even though everything does have to do with that single person."
Kiffer said he expects the majority of buyers will be private collectors, although some libraries, universities and historical societies might also be looking to purchase a few artifacts. Most items are estimated to be worth between $1,000 to $200,000.
The most valuable item in Snider's collection was a letter that George Washington wrote to introduce Franklin to Marquis de Lafayette. The letter sold for more than $1 million at an auction earlier this year.
Items from Snider's collection also will be displayed in New York City for a few days before Sotheby's begins the auction.
