Registration

• Admission for this tour is $40. Members receive exclusive discounts on our programs and courses. Not a member? Learn more.

• Please check your spam folder for your email confirmation. If you have questions, please call (215) 732-1600 or email rsvp@rosenbach.org.

• This program is for those 18 and older.

• To promote access to onsite and virtual Rosenbach experiences, we offer scholarships for each Signature Program. To inquire, email Associate Curator and Manager of Public Programs Bryn Michelson-Ziegler at bziegler@rosenbach.org.

• Registration opens for Delancey Society members on September 17th, for Rosenbach members on September 24th, and for the general public on October 1st.

This program is now sold out. If you want to join the waitlist, please email rsvp@rosenbach.org.

Description

25 years before Count Dracula arrived on the literary scene, another vampire story set the stage for Bram Stoker’s terrifying villain. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s novella Carmilla, published in the 1872 anthology In a Glass Darkly, established foundational elements of vampire fiction. 

In this Behind the Bookcase hands-on tour, follow the thread from Carmilla to Dracula through rare editions, Bram Stoker’s handwritten notes for Dracula (including character and chapter outlines and chronologies), and related vampiric holdings such as the 1870 volume Vikram and the Vampire.

Sponsors

Fall 2026 Behind the Bookcase tours are generously sponsored by Roberta and Joel Porter.

Behind the Bookcase: Hands-on Tours at The Rosenbach

Behind the Bookcase: Hands-on Tours offer unparalleled access to see, and even touch, rare and important items not usually on view to the public. Each program is dedicated to a different author, theme, or topic and grants a truly hands-on experience with materials in The Rosenbach’s inspiring collection.

See all upcoming tours here. Space is limited and advance registration is strongly recommended.