The Rosenblog
“No such thing as a moral or an immoral book:” Rosenbach acquires copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray
At the end of March 2025, the Rosenbach wrapped up a subscription-only Biblioventures series featuring Irish author Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, in which a team of hosts led participants in a close reading and discussion of the novel. But while Dr. Rosenbach was (arguably) wild about Wilde, he didn’t leave a copy of Dorian Gray for our founding collection, resulting in a noticeable gap. Until now…
“What is your favorite book?”
When getting to know new people, I love to ask the question, “what is your favorite book?”
What I’m hoping to learn is not their favorite story, although this may factor into their answer, but rather their favorite book-as-an-object. As someone who is surrounded by books every day, I am always curious to learn what people find meaningful about specific volumes. I’ve gotten a few memorable answers: a particular copy of Winnie-the-Pooh, chosen for the memories it carries of a childhood home; a leather-bound planner that serves as a daily companion; a grandparent’s cookbook that still smells like frying onions and potatoes…
Government Funding and the Rosenbach
Like many museums and libraries across the country, late last week we received notice that our two federal grants—one from the Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS) totaling $248,953 and one from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) totaling $330,977—were canceled…
In Conversation with Rebecca Romney, author of Jane Austen’s Bookshelf
Thanks to rare book dealer Rebecca Romney, I am more than halfway through Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho, a book I would have never picked up if it weren’t for Rebecca’s new book, Jane Austen’s Bookshelf…
Governess Glam: Marianne Moore’s copy of Jane Eyre
When the American poet Marianne Moore (1887–1972) picked up this copy of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, the cover must have caught her eye. A robust beauty gazes at the reader…
An interview with Joyce scholar Vicki Mahaffey on her new book The Joyce of Everyday Life
Vicki Mahaffey has been teaching and writing about James Joyce for decades, at the Rosenbach but also at University of Pennsylvania and University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. And yet she has more to say on the topic…
The Portrait of a Lady: Reparative Cataloging at the Rosenbach
On the stairwell of the Rosenbach Museum & Library’s historic house hangs a portrait of a woman and her child (1954.1882). The woman’s elbow rests on a plush sofa while the child combs her mother’s dark hair. The identity of the woman has long been a source of confusion, and our limited documentation on the portrait is often contradictory…
Thomas Tyrwhitt, Oscar Wilde, Mr. W.H., and James Joyce
Today marks the 285th birthday of Thomas Tyrwhitt. Who is Thomas Tyrwhitt, you ask? Tyrwitt was an 18th-century scholar (born March 27, 1730) who, among many much more important contributions to the study of classical and English literature, came up with the theory that Shakespeare’s sonnets were dedicated to a man named W. Hughes. This theory would later be expanded and played with in Oscar Wilde’s short story “the Portrait of Mr. W.H.,” the manuscript of which lives here at the Rosenbach…
Fiasco! Act I
Shakespeare is always good fodder for a fiasco. So many of his plays draw their life force from them—even plays he didn’t write! That’s where William Henry Ireland comes in…
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