Oval within rectangular shaded area. Inscribed on oval border: "HIS EXCELLENCY B. FRANKLIN L.L.D. F.R.S. PRESIDENT OF PENNSYLVANIA, & LATE MINISTER OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AT THE COURT OF FRANCE." Within border, under bust: "C.W.Peale pinxt. et Fecit 1787." The figure is to the right, reversing the pose of Peale's original painting.

Peale wrote on February 2, 1787: "I have begun another great work, the making of mezzotinto prints from my collection of portraits of illustrious personages. This undertaking will cost me much labor, as I am obliged to take the plates from the rough and doing the whole business myself, even the impressing. I have just finished one of Dr. Franklin, which I am giving out as a specimen of the size and manner I intend this series of prints." (Peale-Sellers Papers)

Multiple original examples exist, including in the collections of:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution (NPG.95.34)