On the evening of September 23, twelve brave Philadelphia-area citizens came to the Rosenbach to attend the first of the Rosenbach Docent training sessions! Some faces were familiar and some had never been to the museum before. As each of the participants in the training course introduced themselves, we asked them to share a story …
You may not have tried this, but if you visit the Rosenbach with children there is a “detail detective” packet that your docent can provide for the house tour, which shows close-ups of collections objects and encourages kids to spot them on the tour. My own children were guinea pigs for this project and they …
After last week’s shout-out to the bicentennial of the War of 1812, this week we return to the Civil War 150 with the anniversary of the battle of Antietam coming up on Monday, September 17. The day after the battle, John Henry Brown, a painter living in Philadelphia wrote in his journal “Desperate fighting at …
Amidst the hoopla for the Dickens 200 and the Civil War 150, it is all too easy to overlook another anniversary this year–the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. It’s a war that few Americans know much about, myself sadly included–when I tested my knowledge on an online 1812 quiz, I scored only 40% …
As summer winds down it seemed appropriate to highlight Dr. Rosenbach’s shore home in Strathmere, New Jersey. Here’s a map showing Strathmere (also known as Corson’s Inlet) in relation to some of the other shore areas. Dr. Rosenbach’s “Boat House” was manufactured by Sears and Roebuck. The home, with its lavish interiors, was actually …
If parody is a form of imitation, and if imitation is a form of flattery, then by my loopy logic James Joyce should be honored by the “comedic recontextualization” that we’ve put him through over the last month-and-a-half. Many of you will have seen the museum’s appearance on Comedy Central’s Colbert Report last month, in …
Random Rosenbach find of the week. Earlier this week I was working on a question about our paintings of Philip Heymann Rosenbach and Adelheid Rosenbach (the paternal grandparents of our founders Philip & A.S.W., the parents of their father Morris Rosenbach). Unknown artist. Philip Heymann Rosenbach. German, mid-19th-century. 2004.0089 Unknown artist. Adelheid Rosenbach. German, mid-19th-century. …
Many of us here at the Rosenbach have been avidly following the Olympics, so in honor of the games, here are a few sport-related images from the collection. George Cruishank, illustration for William Hone, The Every Day Book. William Hone: London, 1825. Rosenbach museum & Library 1954.1880.1910 Among the many gymnastic exercises described in The …
We’re continuing with our series of posts by the Rosenbach’s amazing interns. This one follows the French theme of the past few weeks. ——————————————————————————- Hello Readers! My name is Kat and I am a Collections Intern for the summer here at the Rosenbach. I have a B.A. in History from Temple University and a keen …
This week we turn the blog over to one of our summer collections interns: Julie Carlsen. ———————————————————————— As a new collections intern here at the Rosenbach, I have the pleasure of getting to explore the incredible collections. Today, I want to take a moment of your time to look at one of my favorite pieces- …