The Busy-Body was a

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

used by

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

and

Joseph Breintnall Joseph Breintnall (died 1746) was an influential American merchant and amateur naturalist. He was the first Secretary of the Library Company of Philadelphia and the sheriff of Philadelphia from 1735–1738. His name is usually remembered alongsid ...

in a

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

printed in ''The American Weekly Mercury'', an early American newspaper founded and published by

Andrew Bradford Andrew Bradford (1686 – November 24, 1742) was an early American printer in colonial Philadelphia. He published the first newspaper in Philadelphia, ''The American Weekly Mercury'', beginning in 1719, as well as the first magazine in America in ...

. There are 32 letters in "The Busy-Body" series. The essays were printed in 1729.

History

In 1728 Franklin and Hugh Meredith conspired to start a newspaper that would compete with

and his ''The American Weekly Mercury''. Franklin mentioned their intentions to a journeyman seeking employment named George Webb.

Samuel Keimer Samuel Keimer (1689–1742) was originally an English printer and emigrant who came to America and became an Early American printer. He was the original founder of ''The Pennsylvania Gazette.'' On October 2, 1729, Benjamin Franklin bought thi ...

in turn learned from Webb about Franklin and Meredith's enterprise and labored to launch his own newspaper, ''

Pennsylvania Gazette ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'' was one of the United States' most prominent newspapers from 1728 until 1800. In the several years leading up to the American Revolution the paper served as a voice for colonial opposition to British colonial rule, ...

'' before Franklin and Meredith. The first issue of Keimer's ''Gazette'' appeared December 24, 1728. Franklin describes the events in his ''

Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin ''The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin'' is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin himself appears to have called the work his ''Memoirs''. Although it had ...

'' (1791): "The Busy-Body" was intended to suppress Keimer's readership by bolstering Bradford's sales of ''The American Weekly Mercury''. "The Busy-Body No.1" appeared February 4, 1729; "The Busy-Body No.32" ended the run abruptly on September 25, 1729, the same week that Franklin and Meredith bought the failing ''Pennsylvania Gazette'' from Keimer.

Authorship

Since the 1790s, it has been widely held that Franklin wrote the first four letters in "The Busy-Body" series, contributed to numbers five and eight, while Breintnall wrote the remaining twenty-six (Albert Smyth, II, 100n. in Tolles, 247). Marginalia on the issue of ''The American Weekly Mercury'' from February 18, 1729 held by the archives of

The Library Company of Philadelphia The Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) is a non-profit organization based in Philadelphia. Founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin as a library, the Library Company of Philadelphia has accumulated one of the most significant collections of hist ...

(most likely made by Franklin) suggest that, "The Busy Body was begun by B.F. who wrote the first four Numbers, Part of No. 5, part of No. 8, the rest by J. Brintnal ic" Franklin's ''Autobiography'' is the primary source of our knowledge that it was Breintnall who took over "The Busy Body."

Letters

No. 1

The first article in "The Busy-Body" series was written by Benjamin Franklin and published February 4, 1729. In "The Busy-Body no. 1" Franklin establishes the character of the anonymous Busy-Body as a self-declared
Censor Morum
, or a critic of morals. "The Busy-Body No.1" was the lead-off article of Andrew Bradford's '' The American Weekly Mercury'' the week that it appeared. The letters stayed at the front of the publication for 32 weeks.

No. 18

"The Busy-Body No. 18" was written by

. Published on June 19, 1729, No. 18 is notable for its inclusion of the poem, "A plain Description of one single Street in this City." The poem, which offers a glimpse into colonial Philadelphia in 1729, is attributed to Breintnall, though the narrative persona of The Busy Body only names the author of the poem as "a Friend." The poem describes a progressive walk down

Market Street Market Street may refer to: *Market Street, Cambridge, England *Market Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia * Market Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia *Market Street, Manchester, England *Market Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ...

in the city of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, from the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

to the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...

. "A plain Description of one Single Street in this City" opens with an account of the Market Street docks and the nearby homes of merchants. The poem then goes on to describe local landmarks of colonial Philadelphia, including the courthouse, the "Stocks, Post and Pillory," and the Quaker

Meeting House A meeting house (meetinghouse, meeting-house) is a building where religious and sometimes public meetings take place. Terminology Nonconformist Protestant denominations distinguish between a * church, which is a body of people who believe in Chr ...

that once stood at the intersection of Market and Second. The poem also catalogs some of the various tradesmen's shops that once populated this central street.

References

External links

The Papers of Benjamin Franklin
online archive which includes the Franklin's contributions to "The Busy Body" {{DEFAULTSORT:Busy-Body, The Works by Benjamin Franklin Writing duos Columns (periodical) 18th-century pseudonymous writers Collective pseudonyms