Dr. Rosenbach gave away two of his most famous collections during his lifetime, but significant objects representing these interests, as well as his scholarly, philanthropic, and business pursuits remain here. He donated his early American Judaica to the American Jewish Historical Society in 1931. The small collection remaining at the museum includes several Hebrew incunabula, the Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695 (the first with a map of the Exodus), and the first Hebrew gram-mar printed in the United States (1731).

Most of his early American children’s literature was given to the Free Library of Philadelphia in 1947, but there are still a number of examples of both instructional and entertaining works. For each of these collections, the Doctor compiled a scholarly bibliography that became the standard reference in its field.

The working papers for these and his other writings, as well as correspondence that documents his involvement with a variety of Jewish organizations, are part of the Rosenbach Company archives. The archives’ stock files, purchase and sales records, correspondence, and financial records are an important resource for tracing the formation and dispersal of many important collections, and for the study of the American antiquarian book trade in the 20th century. Selections from the archives are always on view in the third-floor library, illustrating stories from the Company’s history. Other Rosenbachiana includes personal papers and photographs of several generations of the family.

Fine and Decorative Arts

Fine Arts

Metal, Ceramics, and Glass

Portrait Miniatures

Furniture, Clocks, Looking
Glasses, Lighting, and Textiles

Vertu and Jewelry

Rare Books, Manuscripts,
Maps, and Broadsides

Americana

English, American, and
Continental Literature

Book Arts, Incunabula,
Maps and Broadsides

Judaica, Children’s Literature,
and Rosenbachiana

Collections Highlights

James Joyce's Ulysses

Marianne Moore Archive

Maurice Sendak Collection