Mastering Diplomacy
Chess set, 1750–1780
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Chess set, 1750–1780
    
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Life is a kind of Chess, in which we often have Points to gain, & Competitors or Adversaries to contend with. . . .The game is so full of events . . . that one is encouraged to continue the contest to the last, in hopes of Victory from our own skill.
—Benjamin Franklin, The Morals of Chess, June 1779
 
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At his residence in the Paris suburb of Passy, Franklin frequently entertained friends, spies, and fellow statesmen while pursuing his passion for chess. Franklin’s continued popularity with the French helped guarantee his next diplomatic victory, the 1783 Treaty of Paris, officially ending America’s Revolutionary War with Great Britain.

To this diplomatic challenge, Franklin brought a supple and flexible mind and a refined appreciation of the needs of others. Franklin used his understanding of French and British interests to negotiate a treaty to secure peace that was acceptable to all sides. As the negotiations neared conclusion, Franklin wrote to his British friend Sir Joseph Banks, "There never was a good War, or a bad Peace."
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Keeping House in Paris
His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States...to be free sovereign and independent.
—Treaty of Paris, September 3, 1783
 
Map United States of America, 1783  
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Map United States of America, 1783
Although the Revolutionary War ended with the American victory at Yorktown in the fall of 1781, the terms of peace between Britain and the United States were not formalized until September 3, 1783, when the Treaty of Paris was signed. In the two years between the end of hostilities and the signing of the Treaty, the American negotiators—Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay—worked with their British, French, and Spanish counterparts to shape a treaty that guaranteed American sovereignty. The Treaty gave formal recognition to the United States, established its national boundaries, and provided for the evacuation of British troops.
  |   Treaty between Great Britain and the United States of America, 1738
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Treaty between Great Britain and the United States of America, 1738
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Keeping House in Paris
Exhibtion Photo: Hôtel De Valentinois
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Hôtel De Valentinois, Passy, installation 2005
 
Franklin’s busy lifestyle in France is documented in his accounts from the period, which record a full range of household expenses, including his lavish entertainment costs. The Bery stencils were likely used to mark boxes and identify possessions when he left France for Philadelphia.
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Set of stencils, 1781
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Set of stencils, 1781
 Punch keg, 1780
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Punch keg, 1780
 Invitation to dinner at Passy, 1783
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Invitation to dinner at Passy, 1783
<i>Information To Those Who Would Remove to America</i>, 1784
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Information To Those Who Would Remove to America, 1784
 Blank passport, ca. 1780
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Blank passport, ca. 1780
 Portrait print of Benjamin Franklin, 1781
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Portrait print of Benjamin Franklin, 1781