When I emerge from my little hidey-hole off the reading room here at the Rosenbach, I come onto the third floor hall only to have my eyes alight upon this scene:Now, nothing against this fine piece, or more technically, this “polychrome carved and gilded lime wood figure of St. Michael slaying a demon” as our …
A colleague brought this unfortunate news item to my attention last week. It seems one of the world’s largest collections of Harry Houdini material went up in flames last December when a crack-smoking burglar set the collector’s house on fire. The smoker, Mr. Jarrod Frederick, escaped the blazing home of Dr. Randall Wolf even if …
We recently received a bulletin from Dr. Jörn Günther, rare book dealer of Hamburg, announcing that he has, among his stock of jaw-dropping medieval manuscripts, a curious little printed trifle: a leaf from a Gutenberg Bible. This leaf comes from an incomplete copy that previously belonged to Maria Elisabeth Augusta von Sulzbach. It eventually made …
Speaking of Bram Stoker, I learned here that today is the anniversary of the publication of Dracula, a mere 110 years ago. The Count, of course, hasn’t aged a bit. Dracula’s dust jacket, the only known extant example of which can be seen above, has aged quite a bit. Alas, such is the fate of …
Recently, we were graced with a visit from a descendant of Bram Stoker. The delightful Dacre and Jenne Stoker stopped by to examine our set of Bram’s manuscript notes for Dracula. (Bram was Dacre’s great uncle. I’m sure Mr. Stoker has heard more than his share of quips, bons mots, and bad jokes about blood …
So, West Philadelphia’s beautiful, urban Clark Park is home to the world’s only full-size statue of Charles Dickens. Why is the there only one such statue in this great big world of ours and why is it in Clark Park? Follow the link for a good, concise answer to that question. Perhaps this letter, part …
While researching A.S.W. Rosenbach’s Hebrew language studies (see below), I really hoped to find some manuscript evidence of his Hebrew class work. I didn’t have any luck then, but thanks to the the highly proficient PACSCL information professionals presently on our premises, just such evidence has surfaced. The above is a page of notes Abie …
Friends, the above is the greatest list of personal interests, ever constructed. Bar none. It comes from the Who Was Who 1916-1928 listing for English journalist and dramatist George Sims (1847-1922). (The Who Was Who list is actually entitled “recreations,” which may help explain why I find it so charming.) Tucked away on the Rosenbach’s …
I find it touching that a wealthy and powerful business-magnate like Philadelphian John Wanamaker (1838-1922) would go to the trouble to print this little volume of important American historical documents for distribution to the general public: and that the general public would take them home and sign Wanamaker’s pledge to “carefully read” the whole thing:Isabella …
I’m not sure when Cracker Jack® prizes got all educational and everything, but check out the one I got, er, found on the sidewalk the other day: Ladies and Gentleman, I give you Alexander Hamilton, founder of the First Bank of the United States! Yeah, being one of the most important figues in American history …