August 2012
Hands-On Tour
Wed, 08/01/2012 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Even if you’ve never read a line of Charles Dickens’s work, you know some of his creations. In this tour we’ll look at the original portrayals of Oliver Twist, Scrooge, and other memorable characters. Through manuscripts, letters, and other documents we’ll follow their creator’s progress from ambitious unknown to international celebrity. More
Gallery Talk
Thu, 08/02/2012 - 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Get the inside scoop on Maurice Sendak & Stephen Colbert: Interviews, Objects…and Poles! More
Hands-On Tour
Wed, 08/08/2012 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm
This intimate tour focuses on decorative arts made here in Philadelphia between 1750 and 1850. Visitors will be invited to handle selected pieces of furniture and silver as the tour explores issues of craftmanship, style, and the changing world in which artisans and their patrons lived and worked. More
Hands-On Tour
Fri, 08/10/2012 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Incomprehensible incantations, mysterious symbols, and sleight-of-hand illusions abound on this tour about the history of magic in print. You’ll be bamboozled by magicians like Hermes Trismegistus and John Dee. Impress your friends with a newfound knowledge of bogus Latin spells and try a beginner’s lesson in “card conjuring.” And along with these enchantments, you’ll get to experience the real magic of a fifteenth century book and an autographed portrait by Houdini in your hands. More
Hands-On Tour
Sun, 08/12/2012 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm
From George Washington’s earliest known letter (he was just 17!) to a meticulously folded page containing a scientific observation made by Thomas Jefferson while he was walking outside on a misty day, this tour offers an intimate view of the Founding Fathers’ writings to family, friends, colleagues, and even themselves. Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin form the core of the tour. More
Hands-On Tour
Wed, 08/15/2012 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Even if you’ve never read a line of Charles Dickens’s work, you know some of his creations. In this tour we’ll look at the original portrayals of Oliver Twist, Scrooge, and other memorable characters. Through manuscripts, letters, and other documents we’ll follow their creator’s progress from ambitious unknown to international celebrity. More
Hands-On Tour
Fri, 08/17/2012 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm
When is Shakespeare not Shakespeare? And what is a folio, anyway? After seeing some of Shakespeare’s earliest printings and books that inspired his plots, we'll look at how his plays have fared at the hands of actors, editors, and forgers, and read what later writers like Joyce and Wilde made of the mysteries surrounding his life and work. More
Hands-On Tour
Sun, 08/19/2012 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm
When and why did the earliest Jewish residents arrive in Philadelphia? What led the Rosenbach brothers to collect early American Judaica and why does the museum have a continuing collecting interest in the Gratz family of Philadelphia? From life-sized portraits to portrait miniatures, and from a silver tankard with a later engraving to a pocket almanac with mysterious inscriptions, the objects we examine will reveal more about Philadelphia’s early Jewish population and the collectors who amassed these artifacts. More
Hands-On Tour
Wed, 08/22/2012 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm
“Yes, as every one knows, meditation and water are wedded for ever”, from Moby Dick. Throughout history authors have used the Sea as a metaphor for birth, adventure, isolation, a moral testing ground, and more. On this tour we will examine manuscript pages of Joseph Conrad, read stories of castaways, the influential poem the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and other writings of life on the tempestuous sea. More
Hands-On Tour
Fri, 08/24/2012 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm
The Rosenbach is well known for the works of James Joyce and Bram Stoker, but the “English Literature” collections include many other notable Irish authors as well. In addition to Ulysses and Dracula we’ll read and handle works by some of these others, and look at their connections and influences extending from Thomas Jefferson to Moby Dick to the Internet. More
Hands-On Tour
Sun, 08/26/2012 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm
The Rosenbach is well known for the works of James Joyce and Bram Stoker, but the “English Literature” collections include many other notable Irish authors as well. In addition to Ulysses and Dracula we’ll read and handle works by some of these others, and look at their connections and influences extending from Thomas Jefferson to Moby Dick to the Internet. More
Hands-On Tour
Wed, 08/29/2012 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Yes, besotted can mean ‘drunk,’ but it’s also a feeling of infatuation and fascination. On this tour we’ll handle intoxicating artifacts and rare books that chronicle the history of wine and explore its role within literature. More
Hands-On Tour
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Even if you’ve never read a line of Charles Dickens’s work, you know some of his creations. In this tour we’ll look at the original portrayals of Oliver Twist, Scrooge, and other memorable characters. Through manuscripts, letters, and other documents we’ll follow their creator’s progress from ambitious unknown to international celebrity. More