This bust shows Franklin facing forward, wearing a somewhat stern expression, with lips closed. Unlike examples owned by the Louvre, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Philadelphia Museum of Art, his demeanor is that of a public figure, rather than of an individual caught in conversation.

This plaster bust is the earliest that was known to Dean Walker as having firm documentation, when he wrote his entry in Poulet. It was exhibited at the Société des Beaux-arts in Montpellier on December 28, 1779.