I would like to start off by inviting all Rosen-readers to come enjoy Voices of 1863: Witnesses to the Civil War, which opened just this Wednesday. We’ve packed Gallery 1 full of wonderful Civil War documents that really illuminate the wartime experience, plus there’s a chance to hear some of Dave Burrell’s compositions inspired by …
Final drawing for Atomics for the Millions. Pen and ink, gouache. (C) 1946-7 by Maurice Sendak. Maurice Sendak got his first “gig” in the world of book illustration when he was 18, as some astonishing materials recently purchased by the Rosenbach attest. It was the spring of 1946, and his physics teacher at Lafayette High …
Free Library Foundation and Rosenbach directors and board chairs with the mayor and Dr. R Clearly the big news this week at the Rosenbach is our plan to merge with the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation. Here’s a quick round-up of some of the news coverage that the announcement has been receiving, in case you’d …
This week I thought I’d offer up a few behind-the-scenes photos as we get Gallery 1 ready for Voices of 1863. Here’s what the gallery looks like from the door. We decided to take a cue from the domestic nature of our gallery spaces and picked colors inspired by Victorian interiors. The exhibit will also …
Here at the Rosenbach we are thrilled when people make a personal connection with our collections. Sometimes the connection is sparked by an aesthetic encounter, sometimes a connection with a historic document, but one of our recent visitors was surprised to find a family connection here at the Rosenbach. The story comes to us from …
This week I have been working hard on wrapping up label copy for the upcoming exhibit Voices of 1863:Witnesses to the Civil War, which will open on May 1. The show focuses on three events of 1863–the Emancipation Proclamation, Vicksburg, and Gettysburg, and as the title suggests, the main goal of the exhibit is to …
Sometimes good things come in small packages, which is certainly true for this petite pocket timepiece. It measures only 2 inches across, but I think its interest far exceeds its size. Ludovico Theodatus Muller, sundial. Brass. Augsburg, 1725-1775. Rosenbach Museum & Library 1954.2082 Nowadays, when folks want to know what time it is, they generally …
With all the news this week being about the conclave and the new pope, I couldn’t resist writing this week’s post about an illustration of a pope. Pallavicini Master, Presentation of a book to Pope Julius II by a Benedictine. Rome, ca. 1505-1510.Rosenbach Museum & Library. 1954.569 This lovely illustration on vellum exists in our …
Here is what we were promised. George Cruikshank, Boney Hatching a Bulletin or Snug Winter Quarters. 1812. Rosenbach Museum & Library 1954.501 And here’s what we got. George Cruikshank, Anglo-Gallic Salutations In London. 1822. Rosenbach Museum & Library 1954.1880.1562 I, for one, am saddened by the lack of Snowquester here in Philadelphia, since I was …
This week’s post is another in the series of posts adapted from papers on Rosenbach objects written by our wonderful new class of docents. – – – – – – – Marianne Moore’s typewriter came to the Rosenbach Museum & Library in 1972 through a bequest of the poet. We previously believed that this typewriter …