Connections of the historical relics to the famous figure were often tenuous. A favorite is the Franklin Printing Press. In 1768 Benjamin Franklin visited the printing company in London where he had apprenticed in the 1720s. Franklin purportedly took a turn at this press, although he had not operated a press when he worked there. The press was then deemed so historically valuable that it was purchased and transported to the United States, where it went on display in the Patent Office Building and later came to the Smithsonian as the "Franklin Press." Smithsonian Institution Archives, Neg. Number 9160	The Franklin Press
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