In this series, Curator and Senior Director of Collections, Judith M. Guston, will provide The Rosenbach’s Company with background and updates on the Collections Department’s strategic initiative to expand and improve the Rosenbach’s stewardship infrastructure. It’s been a busy summer here in the Collections Department! In early June, we installed our exhibition, 18 Reasons to …
I am greatly looking forward to the time when visitors can return to The Rosenbach and enjoy the remarkable tours our guides provide of the historic house that was the home of Phillip and Abraham Rosenbach in the last two years of their lives. Giving a tour is one of my greatest pleasures. Starting in …
The following objects were selected by The Rosenbach’s Collections Department staff as examples from across our collections of women who broke barriers in their eras, cultures, and professions. They changed the world around them and became role models for those who followed in their footsteps. Amy Lowell (1874-1924), typed letter signed to A. Edward …
In March of 1926, the Rosenbach brothers had made it. Abe was traveling back and forth to England for high profile and wealthy clients, brokering deals for some of the rarest and most historically important books in the Western Hemisphere. Phil ran the retail side of the business, managing two stores filled with highly provenanced …
While Jews themselves were rare in the Americas in the 17th century, word of the possible re-appearance of the Lost Tribes of Israel in the New World spread through the printed word in texts published in London and the Continent during the middle of the century. This tour examines early printed books in English, Latin, Dutch, Hebrew, and Native American languages, but only curiosity is required to learn about them. This fascinating mix of books tell a story of cultural misunderstanding in an age of exploration and expansion.
This tour takes us into the early 18th century and from New York City, home of America’s earliest Jewish population, to Cambridge, Massachusetts. We follow a dedicated teacher of the Hebrew language and its first instructor at Harvard University. We will explore the books that reveal his experiences, as this descendant of Portuguese conversos collides with the forces of New England Puritanism, bringing together a compelling cast of characters, a public spectacle in Harvard Yard, and some of Dr. Rosenbach’s treasures of Early American Judaica.
This tour takes us into the early 18th century and from New York City, home of America’s earliest Jewish population, to Cambridge, Massachusetts. We follow a dedicated teacher of the Hebrew language and its first instructor at Harvard University. We will explore the books that reveal his experiences, as this descendant of Portuguese conversos collides with the forces of New England Puritanism, bringing together a compelling cast of characters, a public spectacle in Harvard Yard, and some of Dr. Rosenbach’s treasures of Early American Judaica.
While Jews themselves were rare in the Americas in the 17th century, word of the possible re-appearance of the Lost Tribes of Israel in the New World spread through the printed word in texts published in London and the Continent during the middle of the century. This tour examines early printed books in English, Latin, Dutch, Hebrew, and Native American languages, but only curiosity is required to learn about them. This fascinating mix of books tell a story of cultural misunderstanding in an age of exploration and expansion.
Explore the philosophy and history of some of the first books printed in the Hebrew language.
Sea monsters in Jewish tradition bear with them always tales of the beginning of time, and its end. Jonah, riding in the belly of his great fish, is carried uncertainly between them. Johan has baffled Jewish interpreters for centuries, and ignited a wide range of conflicting interpretations. The rabbis said the eyes of the whale were like windows though which Jonah could observe the foundations of creation – we’ll look back through at him to try to get a hold on what has made this short book such a fathomless riddle for Jews.