Signed, Sealed, Soapbox
My power was allways small tho my will is good.
— Jane Mecom
Energy and persistence conquer all things.
— Benjamin Franklin
There are few Americans more famous than Ben Franklin, but his sister Jane was somewhat of a mystery. What we do know is that Jane had a very different life than her illustrious brother. Thanks to the simple fact of having been born female, her youth was spent having babies rather than obtaining an education. Her life was marked with misfortune, poverty and the deaths of nearly everyone she loved. Yet through it all she was a skilled craftsperson, craved knowledge, and read everything she could get her hands on. She followed her brother’s career with pride—and he supported her in return, both financially and emotionally. Ben also wrote more letters to Jane than to any other person in his life—including his fellow Founding Fathers.
“Signed, Sealed, Soapbox” is illustrated with the sweeping curves of ornate penmanship and the detailed linework of colonial engravings and period toile fabrics. And though there is no surviving likeness of Jane Mecom, she deserves much more than the portrait of a Jane Doe. Instead, she is made in the image of one of her contemporaries-in-effigy, Comtesse d’Haussonville by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. The broadside’s quotes are accompanied by excerpts of the siblings’ letters—word-for-word, including any original spelling errors and colonial-era grammar—each in a hand-lettered style based on their actual handwriting.
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Year created
2011
At issue
Education equality
The value of mentorship
The Occupy Wall Street movement
Edition size
176 prints
Significance of edition number
America declared independence from England in 1776
Donation
A portion of the proceeds were donated to Big Brothers, Big Sisters, in honor of the positive influence a big brother can have.