1587-1763

(left) Philadelphia Contributorship fire mark, Philadelphia, 1753
Gift of CIGNA Museum and Art Collection
(right) Portrait of Benjamin Franklin painted on the side of a hand-pumped fire engine, Philadelphia, around 1830 (painted about 40 years after Franklin’s death)
Gift of CIGNA Museum and Art Collection

1587–1763: The Era of Colonization and Settlement

How did Americans create philanthropic institutions in the British colonies?

How did American colonists' philanthropy differ from or connect them to British institutions?

Philadelphia Contributorship fire mark, Philadelphia, 1753 and Portrait of Benjamin Franklin painted on the side of a hand-pumped fire engine, Philadelphia, around 1830

What is Philanthropy?

What is Philanthropy?

Culture in the colonial classroom: A failed attempt at assimilation

By NMAH, September 6, 2018
This printed and hand-drawn birth and baptismal certificate

Related Blog Posts

Page from children's book illustration with a skeleton illustration in black link.
"Xerxes the Great did die, and so must you and I": Learning about the alphabet and the inevitability of death in early Protestant America
Do you remember the books that helped you learn to read—maybe Dick and Jane, Dr. Seuss, or Clifford the Big Red Dog? No matter the...
Portrait of a woman with short brown/black hair, black glasses, a grey top, a delicate necklace, and a nice smile.
Meet Amanda Moniz, our new curator of philanthropy
"Congratulations! Say, what does a curator do anyway?" "Philanthropy? So, you're in development?" Over the past few months I've heard those...
Hat with portrait of Benjamin Franklin
Was Benjamin Franklin the father of American philanthropy?
Benjamin Franklin's reputation for invention and inventiveness looms large in our national imagination: Franklin stoves, Poor Richard's...

Containers reveal Americans thinking outside the box about philanthropy

By NMAH, April 24, 2017
Two young girls look through the glass of a museum display to gaze at a blue bucket among other objects like a pair of boots or a bust of a man.

Related Blog Posts

Wooden box with hole in it for birds and wire mesh around opening. There are lichens growing on the top of it. A nail or screw is visible on one side.
Making a place for Eastern Bluebirds—and philanthropy
If you had asked me to guess the first object I would add to the museum's new philanthropy collection, I never would have said a Virginia...
Portrait of a woman with short brown/black hair, black glasses, a grey top, a delicate necklace, and a nice smile.
Meet Amanda Moniz, our new curator of philanthropy
"Congratulations! Say, what does a curator do anyway?" "Philanthropy? So, you're in development?" Over the past few months I've heard those...
Museum case containing woman's gown, marble bust, nurse's cap, and small painting. Each item has a label.
Participating in America means constantly striving for a more perfect union
America Participates is the museum's 2016 theme: But what does "participation" actually look like? We interviewed David Allison, director...

Was Benjamin Franklin the father of American philanthropy?

By NMAH, November 18, 2015
Hat with portrait of Benjamin Franklin

Related Blog Posts

Two women wearing hats in WWI photo
Embroidery under fire
The scream of incoming shells would send French peasant women dashing to their cellars for safety, but then they would pick their...
teapot
Benjamin Franklin and his silver teapot
In honor of Benjamin Franklin's 307th birthday, curator Deborah Warner shares an experiment Franklin isn't known for—and, no, there's no...
Five cool facts about our new Philadelphia-style fire engine
When a new object goes on display, we get excited. Intern Hannah Ostroff gives a behind the scenes look at the installation of our 19th-...

Fire Prevention Week: a hot idea

By NMAH, October 10, 2012
Lithograph of city on fire, boats in harbor

Related Blog Posts

Horse hoof cauterized and preserved with a coat of shiny black enamel
The hoof of fire horse number 12
In the early morning hours of March 30, 1890, in Washington, D.C., the collision of two horse-drawn fire wagons racing to answer an alarm...
Five cool facts about our new Philadelphia-style fire engine
When a new object goes on display, we get excited. Intern Hannah Ostroff gives a behind the scenes look at the installation of our 19th-...
Police badge
Police in history and Hollywood
Two curators share interesting law enforcement-related artifacts in their collections, inspired by National Police Week.Curator Eric...