We often think of the abolition movement beginning in the early 1820s with people like Frederick Douglas, Sojourner Truth and Charlotte Grimke. But since the beginning of slavery in the United States, there were people whose lives were devoted to ceasing and ending it. A few of these early anti-slavery advocates are here at The …
Famous and beloved Irish aria will be performed live on harp during The Rosenbach’s 2019 Bloomsday celebrations on Sunday, June 16. “Where have I been wandering in my sleep? And what curious noise awoke me from its pleasant dream? Ah, Thaddeus, would you not like to know my dream? Well, I will tell it …
January 25 is Burns Night, when we celebrate the works of Scottish poet Robert Burns, the Bard of Ayrshire. It’s also a tradition here on Delancey Place, where our celebration features a night of readings, music, and whisky. The Rosenbach is home to the largest extant collection of Burns’s letters, manuscripts, and early editions. Learn more …
Eighty years ago this December, Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach hosted a rare book auction designed to help refugees from Nazi Germany Cover of the catalogue for the charitable auction held at the Hotel Plaza, New York City, December 8, 1938. This copy belonged to John Fleming, who catalogued the items for sale. Note the Rockwell Kent …
Break out your garlic necklaces and wooden stakes! Today marks Irish writer Bram Stoker’s 171st birthday. Author of Dracula—the inspiration for many a nightmare and pop-culture meme over the past two centuries—Stoker compiled and wrote his iconic novel over the course of seven years. His handwritten notes, including character and chapter outlines, chronologies, and more, …
On the first page of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, unsuspecting young solicitor Jonathan Harker, on his way to meet his new client, stops by the Hotel Royale in Klausenburgh—now Cluj-Napoca—and has a satisfying chicken dinner. Bram Stoker somehow thought it would be fine to send Dracula into the world without any more description of Harker’s dinner …
With a beautiful Vale Press book (Wilde’s House of Pomegranates) on display in the Rosenbach’s current Of Two Minds exhibit, William Morris has been on my mind; Morris’s renowned Kelmscott Press was a significant influence on Charles Ricketts and Charles Shannon when they created Vale Press. This week I took a look at one of the …
18th-century acting superstar David Garrick has a birthday on February 19; he would have been 401. Though he may no longer be a household name, Garrick is partly responsible for contemporary culture’s reverence of Shakespeare, as well as for the genesis of the Rosenbach’s Shakespeare collection—which visitors may encounter while exploring Dr. Rosenbach’s library. David …
On January 25, 1759, the poet Robert Burns was born in Ayrshire, Scotland. The anniversary of his birth is celebrated all over the world with scotch, songs, and poems by the prolific writer. Robert Burns holds a special place in the Rosenbach: our collection houses some remarkable early editions (including a stunning Kilmarnock edition that …
On February 7, we opened a new exhibition celebrating the art and achievements of romantic couples, from the powerful royalty of the 16th century to cinema stars of Old Hollywood to local artists creating together today. Of Two Minds: Creative Couples in Art and History not only challenges the notion that creativity and authorship are solo endeavors, …