The internet tells me it’s “National Hat Day” today, January 15. I’m not really sure where this supposed holiday comes from, but it is a good excuse to show off some some of the fabulous hat-wearers in our collection. Here’s Ben Franklin in his classic fur hat. “”Dr. Benjn. Franklin, Engraved for the Select Portrait …
Our recent Facebook post of Benedict Cumberbatch reading Lewis Carroll’s classic “Jabberwocky” made me wonder what other fabulous renditions there might be out there. Here are a few I turned up. I will also keep track of how many versions pronounce “borogoves” incorrectly–it is a very common slip to insert and extra “r” to make …
As you probably know if you are a frequent reader of the Rosenblog or visitor to the Rosenbach, we have had a very busy fall with the opening of “Down the Rabbit Hole: Celebrating 150 Years of Alicein Wonderland.” Alongside this wonderful exhibition—which is on now through May 15, 2016—we presented a full fall roster …
George Cruikshank, title page for The Yule Log. Glyphograph. 1954.1800.2691 This personified Yule log and its attendant sprites come from an 1847 Christmas book by L.A. Chamerovzow. Here’s what a grumbling William Makepeace Thackeray had to say about the book (and its genre) in “A Grumble About Christmas Books”: [T]he personification mania of the Mayhew …
A long time ago (in 1868) in a galaxy close, close to our own (okay, it is our own) a young inventor created a marvelous mechanical man. Our teenage whiz is Johnny Brainerd and the story is The Steam Man of the Prairies by Edward Ellis. Edward Ellis, The Steam Man of the Prairies. New …
This silver Chanukah lamp is one of three menorahs in the Rosenbach’s metals collection . William Abdy I (d. 1790), Chanukah lamp. London, 1786. Rosenbach. 1954.1818. It is a bench form menorah with eight oil lamps; originally there would have also been a shammash lamp, which presumably would have hooked into the socket on the …
When I’m not at the Rosenbach, one of my hobbies is singing with a local chorus here in Philadelphia, so now that December has arrived I am immersed in a non-stop round of rehearsals, concerts, and gigs. Being in a musical frame of mind, this week’s post looks at a 300-year old music book: An …
If you have questions about how best to prepare your turkey, don’t call the Butterball hotline, consult the Modern Family Cook Book. No, not the TV show tie-in, but the 1829 Philadelphia cookbook. The Modern Family Cook Book. Philadelphia, 1829. A 892m. Collection of the Rosenbach. The Modern Family Cook Book work has very clear …
Today marks the 195th anniversary of the sinking of the whaleship Essex, which was famously “stove by a whale” on November 20, 1820. I’m a bit of a maritime history junkie, so I’ve made reference to the story before, but with a major movie about the wreck opening in December, it seemed that it could …
This week marked the second Veteran’s Day/ Remembrance Day within the observance of the First World War centennial. The Rosenbach doesn’t have an extensive collection of World War I materials, but one interesting cache of documents comes from Christine Biddle and arrived at the Rosenbach as part of the larger Rush-Williams-Biddle papers in 1976. Philadelphian …