No, that isn’t a reference to the temperature outside, but to the familiar six-degrees of separation game, in which you try to link disparate people through a chain of acquaintances, relations, influences, etc. (By the way, Truman Capote had a racier version he called the International Daisy Chain, which involved linking folks via sex partners–he …
Upcoming Events
Resolving to Eat Better
Every year, losing weight and eating better are among the top New Year’s resolutions and many health-related businesses find themselves in demand at this time of the year. It turns out that such concerns are nothing new and tips for healthy living seem to have been a selling point way back in the 18th century. …
“God Bless Us, Every One”–Then What?
All of us are, no doubt, quite familiar with Dickens’s classic 1843 tale A Christmas Carol. At this time of year various movie versions dominate the airwaves and those of us in Philadelphia can make our annual visit to the Dickens Village at Macy’s. But have you ever heard of Dickens’s “Christmas book” for 1844–The …
Pilgrims Reunited
I’ve blogged before about some of the ways the Rosenbach makes its collection accessible online, such as, Phil , our online fine/decorative arts catalog, and Manuscripts Online, which provides high quality images and transcriptions of selected items from our Americana collection. But you may not know that from time to time the Rosenbach also participates …
Going, Going, Gone
We’ve been knee deep in the Civil War around here, preparing for the Civil War Begins exhibit to open next week . As you know, you can check out today’s dispatch from 1860 at https://wpsite.rosenbach.org/civilwar/. But December 8 also marks an anniversary for a different war—as the day after “the day that will live in …
Sendak Mural arrives in New Year
The Chertoff Mural prior to conservation. (C) 1961 by Maurice Sendak, all rights reserved. To add to all the other exciting news circulating around our collections recently, we’ve gotten word that a mural painted by Maurice Sendak on the wall of a New York apartment in 1961 will finally be arriving at the museum in …
Turkey Time
Looking to liven up your Thanksgiving turkey? Maybe you could serve it with mangoes. That’s an option mentioned in the 1812 American cookery: or, the art of dressing viands, fish, poultry, and vegetables. . . adopted to this country and all grades of life, which is on display in A Taste of History. Here’s the …
Fame & Food
It’s been a great news week for the Rosenbach. Just in case you missed it, here’s a link to the Philadelphia Inquirer story about our Gratz aquisitions, and here are links to the coverage by KYW and WHYY of our Today in the Civil War blog. Not too shabby. But never content to rest on …
“Today in the Civil War” Blog Launches on Saturday
After a year and a half of preparation, I am pleased to announce that the Rosenbach’s online project Today in the Civil War: Dispatches From the Rosenbach Collection will [finally] begin tomorrow, November 6, on the 150th anniversary of the election of Abraham Lincoln. The project uses a blog format, so you can just hop …
A Big Thank You to the White Gloves Gang!
This week saw the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) meeting in Philadelphia. On Sunday our facilities manager Stacey Hendricks talked about our 2008 gallery relighting project as part of a panel and on Wednesday the Rosenbach were lucky enough to be a project site for the White Gloves Gang, organized by the Registrars Committee of …