Today marks the 195th anniversary of the sinking of the whaleship Essex, which was famously “stove by a whale” on November 20, 1820. I’m a bit of a maritime history junkie, so I’ve made reference to the story before, but with a major movie about the wreck opening in December, it seemed that it could …
This week marked the second Veteran’s Day/ Remembrance Day within the observance of the First World War centennial. The Rosenbach doesn’t have an extensive collection of World War I materials, but one interesting cache of documents comes from Christine Biddle and arrived at the Rosenbach as part of the larger Rush-Williams-Biddle papers in 1976. Philadelphian …
If you’re still wondering what you’ll be for Halloween this year–and if our recent slate of Alice in Wonderland exhibitions hasn’t inspired you to go as the Queen of Hearts or the Cheshire Cat–here are some other random costume ideas drawn from creepy, silly, or just bizarre objects in our collections: Standard pirate costumes are …
This week the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) hosted its annual conference here in Philadelphia. The fine museum folks who attend the conference also have an opportunity to help out local institutions through the “White Gloves Gang,” organized by the Registrars Committee of MAAM. Five years ago we hosted a visit from the White Gloves …
Today marks the opening of our Down The Rabbit Hole exhibitions, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice in Wonderland. I think Lewis Carroll would be very pleased that his book has had such staying power. In our “Wonderland Rules” show, exhibit curator Leonard Marcus points out: Alice has had one of the …
Fall is upon us, when the students are back in school and alumni spirit runs high, so it seemed an apt time to highlight an early piece of Harvard/Yale humor: Father Abbey’s Will. John Seccombe (1708-1792), “Father Abbey’s will.” [Boston ?, ca. 1780] A 780f This broadside consists of two comic poems. The one on …
This fall the Rosen-blog will be featuring a series of posts by Edward G. Pettit, who is leading our Poe Reading Group. We hope you enjoy his musings. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Poe as he looked while living in Philadelphia. Miniature by John A. McDougall. Ca. 1846. Huntington Library …
It’s been a busy week here at the Rosenbach, prepping for the exhibitions that will make up “Down the Rabbit Hole: Celebrating 150 Years of Alice in Wonderland.” The exhibits won’t open until October 14, but here are a few behind-the-scenes shots of the installation process and your favorite Rosenbach staff, hard at work. Ever …
This week’s item is one that has always puzzled me a bit. On one of our letters between Ulysses S. Grant and his father Jesse, a good chunk of the first page has been scribbled over with a series of ink loops, making it very difficult to read. It is the only example from our …
Earlier this week Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning British monarch, surpassing the 63 years and 216 day record of Queen Victoria. The Rosenbach brothers were alive during the reigns of both monarchs, although Dr. R died only five months after Elizabeth came to the throne and Philip died the following year. So as we …