We at The Rosenbach have some seriously spine-tingling tales in our collection, from Bram Stoker’s notes for Dracula to first editions of Polidori’s The Vampyre and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. What better place to celebrate the spookiest time of year than at the home of these and other horrific — and horrifically inspiring — literary treasures? …
In honor of International Children’s Book Day, I’d like to tell you more about the Rosenbach’s newest program for children, Museum Adventures. On the last Thursday morning of every month, the Rosenbach transforms into a playroom where young children and their caregivers play and explore while gaining essential literacy skills. The Rosenbach, with its rooms …
Do you love good food, great wine, witty conversation, and supporting the Rosenbach? If so, mark your calendars for Thursday, May 3 and join us for The 2018 Rosenbacchanal: A Celebration of Female Luminaries. Every year, friends of the Rosenbach gather for an evening in support of the mission and work of the Rosenbach. This …
On January 25, 1759, the poet Robert Burns was born in Ayrshire, Scotland. The anniversary of his birth is celebrated all over the world with scotch, songs, and poems by the prolific writer. Robert Burns holds a special place in the Rosenbach: our collection houses some remarkable early editions (including a stunning Kilmarnock edition that …
Love is in the library: over the holidays, two visitors got engaged while on a tour of the historic house. Admittedly, some of us were in on the plan. One of our artistic staff members created a library display case with a copy of the bride-to-be’s favorite book, Jane Eyre, opened to the page with the famous line “Reader, I …
On January 1, 1818, the London publishing house Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones published a book titled Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The publication did not name its author, but the book had an preface written by Percy Bysshe Shelley and a dedication to writer and philosopher William Godwin, so some readers assumed that the …
On January 31, 2018, the Rosenbach will host a screening of the classic horror film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, with Frederick R. Haas accompanying the movie on the organ at Macy’s. Conceived as a companion program to our Frankenstein and Dracula: Gothic Monsters, Modern Science, this spooky cinematic event will give us a chance …
On November 14, 1851, Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, or the Whale was published by Harper Bros. in the United States. Although not well-received by the critics and reading public at the time, this novel is now recognized as a masterpiece of literature. The Rosenbach has a substantial collection of Melville’s letters and first edition of his …
‘Tis the season for some Dickens—and at the Rosenbach, we have several programs that highlight our collection of Charles Dickens books and more. On November 30, our A Christmas Carol Course begins and runs for two consecutive Thursdays (Nov 30 and Dec 7). The Course ties in with a two-actor adaptation of A Christmas Carol by the …
In 1803, London was shocked by a public experiment conducted by an Italian scientist named Giovanni Aldini—nephew of Luigi Galvani, whose experiments with electrical currents gave the term galvanism its name. Aldini acquired the body of a recently executed criminal (a perfectly legal transaction, thanks to England’s Murder Act of 1752) and applied electric stimulus to the …