Registration
Tuition for this course is $95. Members receive exclusive discounts on our programs and courses. Not a member? Learn more.
Please check your spam folder for your email confirmation. If you have questions, please call (215) 732-1600 or email rsvp@rosenbach.org.
This program is for those 18 and older.
To promote access to onsite and virtual Rosenbach experiences, we offer scholarships for each Signature Program. To inquire, email Associate Curator and Manager of Public Programs Bryn Michelson-Ziegler at bziegler@rosenbach.org.
Description
Nicholas Biddle and his wife Jane were lovers of French art, history, and literature, and they held many classic works of the French Enlightenment in their library, which survives at the Andalusia estate to this day. Join Andalusia, the Rosenbach, and the Alliance Française de Philadelphie for a special opportunity to spend an afternoon in the library of one of early America’s most important intellects, engaging with his collection of 18th-century books and other library treasures. Make yourself cozy and comfortable in Andalusia’s beautiful library to page through volumes that will transport you to Enlightenment-era France.
Andalusia Executive Director John Vick will offer commentary on Nicholas and Jane Biddle’s interest in French politics and aesthetics, with a focus on other artworks on display in the historic house. Dr. Alexander Lawrence Ames, Curator & Senior Director of Collections Engagement at the Rosenbach, will offer an introduction to the Enlightenment and explain how Biddle’s copies of the works of Voltaire, Buffon, and Rousseau fit into the literature of the period, with a special focus on Biddle’s remarkable set of the complete works of Voltaire. Dr. Ames will discuss Biddle’s acquisition of many of these books while the future banker was still a student, the significance of the books within an Enlightenment context, and how the book collection at Andalusia fits into the transatlantic history of the country house library. The session will include examination of excerpts of the works of Voltaire in French and English translation.
Following the formal lectures, you will have the rare opportunity to handle and personally study choice volumes pulled from the library’s bookshelves, paging through copies of Enlightenment texts just as Nicholas Biddle himself once did.
Your ticket purchase provides meaningful support for the work of both Andalusia and the Rosenbach. You will not want to miss this voyage through French—and Philadelphian—history, literature, and culture!
The course is offered in English. No knowledge of French is required to participate. The only prerequisite is a love of books!
Accessibility note: steps are required to enter Andalusia’s Big House, where the program will be held.
About the Instructors
John Vick is the Executive Director of Andalusia Historic House, Gardens & Arboretum, where he oversees public site visits, ongoing preservation efforts, and research into more than two centuries of residency on the property and nearly 350 years of the Biddle family in America. With a wide range of interests and experience, he brings a contemporary perspective to the historic site, collections, and grounds. John holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston College and a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, both in art history. Before coming to Andalusia in 2022, he spent 13 years at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, curating and contributing to over 20 exhibitions and books on diverse topics. His final project there was managing the creation of new galleries of early American art, a component of the Core Project designed by architect Frank Gehry. John was born in Philadelphia, grew up in the suburbs, and now lives in the Fishtown neighborhood with his wife and daughter.
Alexander Lawrence Ames is Curator & Senior Director of Collections Engagement at the Rosenbach Museum & Library. With interests in French language, history, and literature as well as the development of the country house library, Ames is the author of a book about another Francophile Philadelphian (and colleague of Nicholas Biddle): the legendary banker Stephen Girard. Portrait of a Citizen: Stephen Girard, Mariner, Merchant, Banker, and Philanthropist of the Early American Republic (De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2026) examines Girard’s library, which, like Biddle’s, included works by Voltaire and Rousseau. When not teaching Rosenbach courses, Ames enjoys drinking tea, visiting historic house museums, and wandering through Andalusia’s beautiful gardens.