The Rosenbach Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Rosenbach
Thousands of rare books, manuscripts, and works of art—some famous and some rarely seen—live within the walls of The Rosenbach, and each one has a story to tell. Institutions like The Rosenbach are more than just repositories of history; they provide a space for people to come together and make sense of their shared futures.
In our new podcast, members of The Rosenbach’s Collections staff reveal what it’s like to spend your 9-to-5 caring for generations of history, and share some of their favorite surprises that reside on our shelves. There are endless stories to tell.
With cohosts Monica Schmidt, Mary Alcaro, Anastasia Klimchynskaya
We wrap up the series and look back on Sherlock Mondays’ 29 episodes featuring the first 27 Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Like Watson, as readers, we marveled at the powers of Holmes to observe, imagine, and solve.
With cohost Monica Schmidt
Watson faints for the first and last time of his life when he discovers what really happened to Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls, all while the “second most dangerous man in London” stalks the city with his air-rifle.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here and a pdf as it appeared in Collier’s Magazine here.
With cohost Mary Alcaro
Sherlock Holmes battles his greatest foe, Professor Moriarty. Then it’s off to Switzerland with Dr. Watson. Will Moriarty join them at the Reichenbach Falls?
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Anastasia Klimchynskaya
Watson brags about being a bully at school, Tadpole Phelps is recovering from brain fever, and Sherlock stops to smell the roses (literally). You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Curtis Armstrong
Watson meets Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft. Then they all help some Greeks in trouble. Opa!
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Monica Schmidt
Sherlock walks out on a client when he won’t tell the truth, but when Holmes learns what happens next, he . . . whistles.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Anastasia Klimchynskaya
A dead husband, a wife suffering from brain fever, a locked door with no key, and . . . a mongoose! Sherlock must find the Crooked Man to solve this one.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Mary Alcaro
Holmes and Watson are on vacation at a country house, and (of course!) a murder happens next door. Now can Sherlock only solve the mystery of Annie Morrison?
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Monica Schmidt
Whose was it? His who is gone. Who shall have it? He who will come. Sherlock solves an ancient family ritual on a Sussex country estate.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Anastasia Klimchynskaya
The Sherlock Holmes origin story! We take a voyage on the Gloria Scott, bound for the penal colony in Australia. You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Curtis Armstrong
A clerk calls at 221b Baker Street with questions about the odd circumstances of his new job. Sherlock and Watson travel to Birmingham for answers at the clerk’s office. What is the strange knocking sound coming from the next room? You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Monica Schmidt
A distraught husband calls on Sherlock Holmes for some marriage advice. Oh, and also about that weird yellow face he keeps seeing in the cottage window near his house. You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Curtis Armstrong
What do you do when you receive a cardboard box in the mail and it contains two freshly severed human ears? Call on Sherlock Holmes! You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Monica Schmidt
Silver Blaze, a famous racehorse, has gone missing and his trainer found dead. Can Holmes find the horse before the running of the Wessex Cup? It all depends upon “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Mary Alcaro
Strange goings-on for the governess, Violet Hunter. Holmes and Watson must travel to the remote mansion, The Copper Beeches, to unravel the mysteries before it is too late.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Anastasia Klimchynskaya
A distraught client bangs his head on the walls at Baker Street. Holmes must follow many footprints in the snow to recover the missing gems from the priceless beryl coronet.
With cohost Monica Schmidt and special guests Scott Monty and Burt Wolder from I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere
Watson stops by to wish Holmes "the compliments of the season," only to faced with a mystery about a Christmas goose and the scintillating blue jewel found in its crop.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Curtis Armstrong
The pompous Lord Robert St. Simon can’t imagine why his bride would disappear at their wedding breakfast. Perhaps the idea of marrying someone as lofty as he drove her mad? Sherlock has his own deductions.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazinehere.
With cohost Mary Alcaro
Victor Hatherley finds himself in a creepy, remote house in the country chased by an axe-wielding maniac. It's nothing a glass (or two) of brandy and a visit to Sherlock won’t cure.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Monica Schmidt
Gothic goings on in Stoke Moran as Holmes tangles with the evil Grimesby Roylott.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Anastasia Klimchynskaya
Sherlock visits an opium den, smokes an ounce of tobacco and washes the face of a beggar.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Mary Alcaro and special guest Ray Betzner
Sherlock Holmes matches pips with the KKK and then needs to pursue them on a midnight ship to Georgia.
Ray Betzner joins us to talk about the history of the Baker Street Irregulars organization.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Anastasia Klimchynskaya
Sherlock finally dons his deerstalker hat when he and Watson visit Boscombe Valley to solve a murder with a link to Great Britain’s colonial empire. Cooee!
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Mary Alcaro
Holmes and Watson are visited by Miss Mary Sutherland, whose fiancé, Hosmer Angel, has disappeared. They met at the gasfitters ball and after a whirlwind romance, his carriage arrived empty at the church for the wedding. Sherlock smokes his pipe, then picks up his whip. Seriously, an actual whip.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazinehere.
With cohost Curtis Armstrong
A league for redheads? Paying a man just for his ginger tendency? Holmes roars with laughter, then realizes he is faced with a “three-pipe problem.” After noticing the dirty knees of the pawnbroker’s assistant, Holmes tells Watson to bring his army revolver. In the end, only a daring capture saves Sherlock from ennui.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Monica Schmidt
Watson, now married, drops in on Holmes at Baker Street. A mysterious masked man visits with a case. And Sherlock must go up against “THE woman.” Of course, Holmes will solve the case. Or will he? You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in The Strand Magazine here.
With cohost Mary Alcaro
Sherlock gets some four-legged help to follow scent of Jonathan Small (and his “small” companion), then enlists the “Baker Street Irregulars” for help. Watson, pining for Mary Morstan, secretly dreads finding her treasure, as this will make her unattainable for marriage. By the end, Sherlock will say goodbye to good dog Toby and hello again to his cocaine syringe.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in Lippincott’s here:
https://rosenbach.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SIGN.pdf
With cohost Monica Schmidt and special guest Leslie S. Klinger
The Sign of Four was first published in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine in February 1890 in both Philadelphia and London. Sherlock is high on cocaine until Mary Morstan arrives with a “singular case” for him to solve. Watson is more interested in Mary than in finding the Great Agra Treasure. Leslie Klinger joins us to talk about annotated editions of Sherlock Holmes.
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in Lippincott’s here:
https://rosenbach.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SIGN.pdf
A Study in Scarlet was first published in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887.
With cohost Curtis Armstrong.
Doyle takes us to his fantasyland version of the American west for Jefferson Hope's backstory, then we return to London to hear Hope’s account of his “crimes.” Was it justice or murder?
You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in Beeton’s here.
With cohost Dr. Anastasia Klimchynskaya. A Study in Scarlet was first published in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887.
In this episode, we’ll cover part one of the story (Part I Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of JOHN H. WATSON, M.D., late of the Army Medical Department) and next week we’ll cover part two. You can find a pdf of the story as it originally appeared in Beeton’s here:
https://rosenbach.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Beetons-Christmas-Annual-A-Study-in-Scarlet.pdf
In Part I of STUD, Watson and Holmes move into 221b Baker Street. When the police come calling for assistance, Holmes and Watson rush to the crime scene to unravel the scarlet thread of a tangled skein of murder.
Modernist poet Marianne Moore was a national celebrity in the mid-20th century—a status she achieved through an effort at self-fashioning grounded in her authorial achievements, but shaped by the rich media landscape in post-war America. Moore’s entire adult life and career were influenced by difficult family relationships. In this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, join host Dr. Alexander L. Ames and acclaimed Moore biographer Linda Leavell, author of Hanging On Upside Down: The Life and Work of Marianne Moore, for a fascinating discussion of this complex cultural figure. Doctors Ames and Leavell discuss Moore’s family life, her approach to poetry, the fame she achieved relatively late in life—and why this iconic poet deserves our attention today. Leavell also describes her experiences doing extensive historical and literary research at the Rosenbach Museum & Library, and why collecting institutions like the Rosenbach matter for the flourishing of American society in the 21st century.
Once referred to as a “furious lesbian” by her friend the celebrity photographer Cecil Beaton, the poet, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and memoirist Mercedes de Acosta lived a life unlike any other in early 20th-century New York and Hollywood. A gifted writer and passionate artist, de Acosta never received the level of fame and success that her creative work merited. Rather, she became notorious for her same-sex relationships with icons including Marlene Dietrich, Eva Le Gallienne, and Isadora Duncan. Her memoir, Here Lies the Heart, is considered a classic of Queer literature. In this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, join podcast host Dr. Alexander L. Ames, Rosenbach researcher and de Acosta biographer Dr. Robert A. Schanke, and Isabel Steven, Coordinator of Public Programs at the Rosenbach, for a discussion of the amazing achievements and lasting legacy of this misunderstood figure in LGBTQIA+ history.
Born into a middle-class family and stricken by tragedy early in life, Pennsylvanian Harriet Lane ascended to the summit of American and British social life as the official hostess of her uncle, U.S. President James Buchanan. In this interview with Patrick Clark, director of James Buchanan’s Wheatland estate in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, we consider Lane’s remarkable public life—and how delaying marriage enabled her to achieve a level of influence and freedom that evaded most married women in her era. As the Rosenbach gears up for an exhibition devoted to the history and future of the American presidency in 2023, this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast sets the stage for a consideration of the importance of family life—and public image—to the executive officeholder.
Content Note: This episode involves discussion of physical and cultural violence against Indigenous peoples, especially Indigenous children.
Modernist poet Marianne Moore, whose papers and personal effects reside at the Rosenbach, spent an early part of her career teaching at the “Carlisle Indian Industrial School,” an institution sponsored by the United States federal government as part of a larger effort to assimilate Indigenous children into white American society. Recently, a group of activists founded the Carlisle Indian School Project (CISP), https://carlisleindianschoolproject.com/, to give voice to the legacy of the children who suffered at the school—and, in many cases, overcame the challenges they faced to make positive contributions to their communities. In this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, we are joined by one of those activists, Sandi Cianciulli, for a conversation at the Whistlestop Bookshop in busy downtown Carlisle, Pennsylvania, about her family’s connection to the school, and the work of CISP to teach contemporary Americans about the school’s complex legacy. Podcast host Dr. Alexander L. Ames also stops by the Rosenbach’s reading room to learn more about the Moore collections from Librarian Elizabeth E. Fuller and Assistant Librarian Nancy Loi.
Land Acknowledgement: With gratitude and humility, the Rosenbach Museum & Library acknowledges that it is situated on Lënapehòkink, the traditional homelands of the Lenni-Lenape peoples. A history of broken treaties, forced removals, and fraudulent agreements such as the Walking Purchase of 1737 displaced many of the Lenape people from this land, though some also remain among the continuing historical tribal communities of the region: the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation, the Ramapough Lenape Nation, the Powhatan Renape Nation, the Nanticoke of Millsboro Delaware, and the Lenape of Cheswold, Delaware. We acknowledge the Lenni-Lenape as the original people of this land and their continuing relationship with their territory. The Rosenbach strives to understand our place within a national legacy of colonization, and to act as allies to Indigenous people and their vibrant communities today, in how we engage with our collections, and the important stories they help preserve and communicate.
Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach was more than a businessman. He and his brother (and business partner) Philip were also civic activists who played an important role in American national life, and Jewish-American life in particular. What is more, Dr. Rosenbach wielded his bookish connections to help him make a difference in the world. In this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, we’ll talk with modern-day Philadelphia author, social justice activist, and bookshop owner Jeannine A. Cook about how great literature inspires her work in the realms of activism and writing. Join Ms. Cook and Rosenbach Podcast host Dr. Alexander L. Ames in the atmospheric West Library of the Rosenbach for a conversation inspired by collections objects, including works by Toni Morrison, Langston Hughes, Phillis Wheatley, Marianne Moore, and others.
Note: This episode was recorded live in the Rosenbach’s West Library.
What does history sound like? It’s an intriguing question, and one we may not ask ourselves enough. In this episode of The Rosenbach podcast, join host Dr. Alexander L. Ames in the West Library of the Rosenbach with musicologist and baritone Dr. Christopher Dylan Herbert for a discussion of the sounds of the Ephrata community of eighteenth-century pious mystics. Herbert will discuss the research methods he used to bring the musical tradition of the Ephrata community to life—and how, in the process, he discovered some of the earliest identified white female American composers. Listen to Voices in the Wilderness here: https://open.spotify.com/album/6iPkwxZsUaOEbY2zeB4gf0.
Note: This episode was recorded live in the Rosenbach’s West Library.
Capitulo 23: Cruz Dorado: Reliquias del Imperio Español y México Independiente en el Museo y Biblioteca Rosenbach.
The Rosenbach Museum & Library is home to a large and important collections of rare books and manuscripts documenting the history of colonial New Spain and early independent Mexico. Ithis episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, Carlos G. Obrador Garrido Cuesta, Head Consul of the Consulate of Mexico in Philadelphia, joins podcast host Dr. Alexander Lawrence Ames and Rosenbach Development Associate Sara Potts for a conversation about the history and present-day state of Mexican/U.S. relations, and the role of cultural institutions like the Rosenbach in helping bridge divides between communities. The Head Consul also shares his own reflections on his visits to the Rosenbach, and some of the favorite books and manuscripts he’s seen during tours and programs he has attended.
Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach enjoyed global fame as a rare book dealer and cultivated important connections—including in Washington, D.C. When he acquired a remarkable volume that survived the torching of the United States Capitol during the War of 1812, Dr. Rosenbach donated it back to the nation, and the volume resides in the Library of Congress today. It marks the important role that Dr. Rosenbach played in building many of the great rare book collections in the United States. In this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, host Dr. Alexander L. Ames visits Mark Dimunation, Chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress, for a look at Dr. Rosenbach’s wonderful donation and a conversation about the place of rare books and libraries in our national civic life.
The Rosenbach Museum & Library welcomes hundreds of researchers from all around the world to its reading room, to make use of the institution’s rich and diverse collections. Those researchers help us learn more about our holdings and contribute to our vibrant community. In this special Rosenbach Podcast episode, we’ll talk with author and historian Heather Darsie about how she discovered an important portrait of one of King Henry VIII’s wives at the Rosenbach, and how she made use of it in her recent book project. Then, Rosenbach Registrar Jobi Zink and Collections Stewardship Assistant Jen Tanglao tell us more about the Rosenbach’s fine and decorative art collections, and how those resources enhance the research value of our rare books and manuscripts. Finally, Jobi and Jen explain how you too can visit the Rosenbach to enjoy and learn from our collections!
Note: This interview was recorded shortly after the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and Heather was in London witnessing the nation’s response to the historic passing. The episode includes Heather’s reflections on the events, explored in the context of her research into England’s historic queens.
The Rosenbach’s Collections Department is responsible for stewarding the physical wellbeing of collections objects, meaning that we regularly work with conservators, who perform repair treatments on our objects to guarantee their safety for years to come. In this episode, join Associate Curator Dr. Alexander L. Ames and Senior Book Conservator Richard Homer at the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) in Philadelphia, for a conversation about the importance of collaboration between curators, librarians, and conservators to protect and preserve the physical integrity of cultural artifacts. They will highlight a Rosenbach collections object currently undergoing conservation treatment at CCAHA: an eighteenth-century English translation of the Qur’an that had been owned by members of the Jewish-American Gratz family. At the end of the episode, Richard will share helpful tips for how you can take good care of your own collections of books and historic documents.
The collections of the Rosenbach Museum & Library are dynamic, growing, and changing to meet the needs of the present and the future. Join Rosenbach Curator & Senior Director of Collections Judith M. Guston, Librarian Elizabeth E. Fuller, and Associate Curator Dr. Alexander L. Ames in the reading room of the Rosenbach for a conversation about the strategies they employ to identify and acquire objects for the Rosenbach’s holdings, and a discussion of some newly acquired objects.
Following the crowning of the Rosenbach Test Kitchen winner, Associate Curator and host of The Rosenbach Podcast Dr. Alexander L. Ames sits down with acclaimed foodways scholar Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson for a conversation about how historians and other scholars make use of libraries, archives, museum collections, and other primary sources in their research. Williams-Forson takes listeners behind the scenes into the American historian’s work and shares insights from her books, including Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America (UNC Press 2022), Taking Food Public: Redefining Food in a Changing World (Routledge 2013), and the award-winning Building Houses out of Chicken Legs: Black Women, Food, and Power (UNC Press 2006). Doctors Ames and Williams-Forson discuss the importance of libraries, museums, and archives to modern-day American civic life, and the value of spending time with primary sources like those housed at the Rosenbach Museum & Library today. This episode is the perfect after-dinner treat, following up on key issues raised in Rosenbach Test Kitchen.
The cooking is done, the dishes are prepped, the table is set, and Rosenbach Test Kitchen judges are ready to critique the submissions! Grab your seat at the dining room table with Rosenbach Curator and Senior Director of Collections Judy Guston and Librarian Elizabeth Fuller, as they critique dishes inspired by Rosenbach collections items that contestants prepared in the previous episode. The judges critique dishes cooked by Director Kelsey Scouten Bates, Registrar Jobi Zink, and Associate Curator Alex Ames in five categories: flavor, texture, presentation, authenticity, and historical interest, before crowning one special winner of Rosenbach Test Kitchen. What dish will it be? Tune in for the answer!
(Note: This episode was recorded live around Registrar Jobi Zink’s dining room table, with the noise of a buzzing, busy kitchen in the background. Thank you, Jobi, for letting us take over your kitchen and dining room for the podcast!)
In the first episode of Rosenbach Test Kitchen, join Associate Curator and host of The Rosenbach Podcast Dr. Alexander L. Ames in the reading room of the Rosenbach with Director Kelsey Scouten Bates, Curator and Senior Director of Collections Judy Guston, Librarian Elizabeth Fuller, and Registrar Jobi Zink for some research into American history, as the team locates historic dishes represented in our rare books and manuscripts. Judy and Elizabeth offer perspectives on the richness of the Rosenbach’s holdings in American history before Kelsey, Jobi, and Alex dive into the objects that inspired their dishes of choice for the Rosenbach Test Kitchen competition: a letter about parmesan cheese written by Thomas Jefferson and a travel journal kept by Englishman James Edward Moxon as he journeyed across the United States in the 1800s.
Stress and excitement are both running high in the kitchen, as Rosenbach Test Kitchen competitors Kelsey Scouten Bates, Jobi Zink, and Alex Ames cook up their historic dishes for presentation to the Test Kitchen judges. Dishes include a vegetable soup, turkey with oyster sauce, asparagus with egg, macaroni with cheese, a peach julep, ginger beer, and lemon ice cream for dessert. Grab your apron and learn from each of the contestants about how they adapted historic recipes for this modern dinner party. Then, test out some of the recipes yourself!
(Note: This episode was recorded live in Registrar Jobi Zink’s kitchen, with all the background noise you might expect. Thank you, Jobi, for letting us take over your kitchen for the podcast!)
Books are not just literary and historical artifacts; they can also be visual artworks. In this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, renowned Philadelphia-based pop-up book artist Colette Fu introduces us to her art form and explains what inspires her to explore cross-cultural interactions by means of the pop-up book.
Museum and library exhibitions and collections have long been sources of public dialogue. Dr. Rosenbach and his brother and business partner Philip Rosenbach participated in one of the most ambitious exhibitions focused on rare books and documents in American history: the Freedom Train project of the 1940’s, launched shortly after the end of the Second World War. The spirited public debate around equity, access, and narratives of American history inspired by the Freedom Train hold important insights for Americans today as we continue to consider how best to represent the origins and development of the nation. This episode of The Rosenbach Podcast shares the story of the Freedom Train and points listeners in the direction of other Rosenbach resources about telling inclusive stories from history.
Libraries, archives, museums, and the collections they contain are essential for the healthy functioning of democratic societies. Using the story of Dr. Rosenbach’s charity book auction described in Episode 11 as a starting point, this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast features a conversation with Richard Ovenden, O.B.E., Bodley’s Librarian at the University of Oxford. Our conversation explores cultural memory, information policy, and where our world may be headed with access to reliable information under threat. Mr. Ovenden discusses his new book, Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge (Harvard University Press, 2020), and what lessons history has to teach us about when libraries and archives come under attack.
As the Jewish people faced persecution under the Nazi regime, Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach, a prominent member of the Jewish American community, sprang into action to raise funds for refugees by means of a charity book auction held in New York. This episode of The Rosenbach Podcast reveals how Dr. Rosenbach activated his social and civic networks for a cause he believed in—and which other luminous figures in the American book world of the time lent their support.
Following in Dr. Rosenbach’s footsteps, in this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, we will take our own trip to the Royal Library at Windsor Castle and speak with a Royal Collection Trust staff member about the work of the Library today. Rachel Scott of Royal Collection Trust shares her thought about the book Dr. Rosenbach’s acquired from the Royal Library and tells us what it’s like to work at Windsor Castle today.
The Rosenbach’s collections include many objects with connections to European royalty. One such object is a book that was acquired as a gift from the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. In this episode, learn about this precious relic from a transatlantic voyage Dr. Rosenbach undertook in the 1920’s.
Shortly before his death with the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic, Harry Elkins Widener visited the shop of Bernard Alfred Quaritch in London. The business continues to operate today and holds fascinating records of the Widener family’s patronage so many years ago—as well as communications between Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach and Bernard Alfred Quaritch as news of the maritime disaster became known. In this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, we will engage members of Quaritch’s expert staff today to learn about the company’s Titanic connections before turning to conversations about the state of the rare book trade today.
In this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, a continuation of Episode 6, our team of experts from Harvard University continues to reflect on what Eleanor Elkins Widener’s recovery from grief following the loss of family members onboard the R.M.S. Titanic reveals about the grief process—and how her construction of the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library at Harvard might have aided that process. (Listen to Episode 6 before Episode 7; this episode is a continuation of the conversation begun in Episode 6.)
The loss of Harry Elkins Widener onboard the R.M.S. Titanic inspired his mother, Eleanor Elkins Widener, who survived the maritime disaster, to build a great library at Harvard University in her son’s honor. She collaborated closely on the project with Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach—an endeavor that helped launch Dr. Rosenbach’s career. In this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, we will journey to Harvard University to learn more about the Widener Memorial Library, its collections, and the process by which it came to exist by speaking to a Harvard curator who works closely with books Harry Elkins Widener once owned. We will also speak with Harvard University experts in grief to gain insights about what inspired Eleanor Elkins Widener to create a library in her son’s memory—and what her journey from anguish to triumph can teach us about healing from grief in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rosenbach is eternally linked to the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic by means of Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach’s friendship with young Philadelphia book collector Harry Elkins Widener, who died onboard the ill-fated vessel. In this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, the first in a four-part miniseries about the Titanic, join podcast host Dr. Alexander L. Ames and Rosenbach Curator & Director of Collections Judith M. Guston in the Rosenbach reading room to learn the basic details of The Rosenbach’s Titanic and Widener family story, as the two view historic documents and rare books in the collection that record this tragic but pivotal episode in the lives of The Rosenbach’s founders.
The Rosenbach holds internationally-significant collections of fine art, decorative art, and rare books, some of which reside in the beautiful parlor in the historic Rosenbach home. Yet all is not as it seems in this familiar space, which is filled with artifacts documenting the globally-diverse history of early America and the Philadelphia region in particular. In this episode, recorded in The Rosenbach’s parlor, Rosenbach Curator & Director of Collections Judith M. Guston tells us about the history of The Rosenbach, the work of curators and other collections professionals, and what the artworks and artifacts on display in the parlor reveal about history and culture.
Books, historic documents, and other artifacts do not just record the past; they can inspire us to create a better future. In this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, Philadelphia Poets Laureate Yolanda Wisher and Trapeta Mayson tell us about what objects in The Rosenbach’s collection they find particularly inspirational for their own literary work. Wisher and Mayson, both of whom also serve on The Rosenbach’s Board of Directors, share their thoughts about The Rosenbach, and what listeners should expect when they visit in person or engage in a virtual program. Both Mayson and Wisher read poems they’ve written, and the episode also features music recorded by these two multitalented, interdisciplinary artists—including selections from Mayson’s album “This Is How We Get Through,” a collaboration with distinguished jazz artist Monnette Sudler.
The Rosenbach’s collections draw researchers from around the world to visit our reading room and study books, manuscripts, and other objects. In this episode, recorded in the reading room, Elizabeth E. Fuller, the Librarian of The Rosenbach, introduces us to The Rosenbach’s collections of rare books and manuscripts and shares a few of her favorite items in the collection. She also tells us about what it’s like to be a Rosenbach researcher, and how anyone can visit the reading room to engage with our collection objects.
How can rare books and special collections like those held at The Rosenbach speak to modern-day American life? Why are material artifacts important in understanding our cultures’ history and future? In the first episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, join host Dr. Alexander Lawrence Ames for an evocative voyage into The Rosenbach’s collections of American and British history and literature. Dr. Ames introduces books on The Rosenbach’s shelves by famous authors Edna St. Vincent Millay and Sir Walter Scott to consider representations of gender and family in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, before reflecting on what the work of Edna St. Vincent Millay has to teach us about the economic and social labor of women—mothers in particular—as the United States grapples with the economic hardships laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic. Celtic harp music featured in this episode was arranged, performed, and recorded by Dr. Ames.