Once again it is snowing on January 25th, the birthday of Robert Burns and the occasion of Burns Night celebrations around the world. Typically a Burns Night gathering is a supper of haggis, nips, and taddies interspersed with many toasts and recitations of the Scottish Bard’s poetry. As I stopped to pick up the flowers …
Today, January 17, marks the 308th birthday for one of Philadelphia’s most famous citizens–Benjamin Franklin. Of course, when he was born the date on the calendar was actually January 6, since Britain and her colonies wouldn’t switch to the Gregorian calendar until 1752. Mr. Franklin had a few things to say about age and aging …
First, I want to apologize to all Rosen-blog readers who subscribe via the Feedburner feed. It turns out there was a glitch which kept our feed from updating correctly for the past month, which also led to posts not appearing on Facebook. We have now resolved the problem and you should be getting your Rosen-posts …
Someone writes and circulates an opinionated piece on a hot political topic. A second person reads it and responds. A third and fourth person chime in. The original person responds to the commenters. The cycle repeats. Sound like the modern blogosphere? Or maybe, the pamphlet wars of the 17th and 18th century. If you’ve been …
The Rosen-blog will be going on vacation until after the new year, so we’re leaving you with a New Year’s item from our collections–a carrier’s address from January 1, 1848. Carriers’ addresses were New Year’s verses that were printed annually by many papers and delivered by newsboys in search of holiday tips. Carrier’s address of …
The recent precipitation has precipitated my desire to showcase some of the wonderful snow and ice sculptures that I have run across in my travels around the web. They’re not necessarily local, or from this year, but they seemed in the Rosen-spirit to me. Here’s a great Wild Thing snow sculpture from 2009. Photograph by …
Whether you’ve just wrapped up your holiday gift-giving or you’re currently planning and shopping, I thought this letter from Eleanor Elkins Widener offered a poignant reminder of the power of holiday traditions. Eleanor Elkins Widener, autograph letter signed to Philip H. Rosenbach. [December 1912?]. RCo I:181:31 Eleanor Elkins Widener, autograph letter signed to Philip H. …
A little over two years ago Maurice Sendak gave what would be his last interview for NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Sendak had been on the show a number of times and fans have commented on Sendak and Gross’s rapport, which only grew over the years. But this interview was different. Still reeling from …
Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are turned 50 this week (November 20 to be precise)–that’s 50 years of rumpuses; of successive printings and translations; of adaptations in art, opera, and film; and of multiple generations finding some connection that keeps them reading, looking, and passing it on. Such longevity is a remarkable achievement for …
In last week’s blog post we wished Bram Stoker a happy birthday; this week it is Marianne Moore’s turn. She was born on November 15, 1887, which would make today her 126th birthday! Here at the Rosenbach we celebrated on Wednesday with a great talk by Moore scholar Linda Leavell on her new Moore biography, …