ABSTRACT The Library Company of Philadelphia, founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731, is known to have held non-book objects. What has gone unnoticed is that the institution’s directors circulated those objects to Library Company members, thus extending the principles of the subscription library to non-book objects. By exploring the origins and early years of what was, in effect, America’s first circulating museum, this study argues that the Library Company’s non-book collection functioned as a means of facilitating self-improvement and social refinement for colonial Americans.

中文翻译：

---

美国第一个流通博物馆：费城图书馆公司的藏品

摘要 费城图书馆公司由本杰明富兰克林于 1731 年创立，以持有非书籍物品而闻名。没有注意到的是，该机构的董事将这些对象分发给图书馆公司成员，从而将订阅图书馆的原则扩展到非书籍对象。通过探索实际上是美国第一个流通博物馆的起源和早年，本研究认为图书馆公司的非书籍收藏起到了促进殖民地美国人自我完善和社会完善的一种手段的作用。