The Rosenbach

As we close out the year, we’re so grateful for The Rosenbach’s incredible community of support. We couldn’t do our work without you! As we enter our tenth (10th!) month of working from home, we thought we’d introduce the newest members of the #Rosenstaff who have joined the team in our remote offices: Jane Pawsten Pettit Head of Napping and Snooze Control Vincent Meyer Best Boy at the Department of Good Boys Charlie Chisholm-Yost Senior VP of the Food and Snack ...Oversight Committee Vincent Scott Doe - VP of Employee Health and Wellness Initiatives Bob Bates - Head of R & D, Hair Products Division Saoirse Parker Lead Lounge Manager and Chief Critic of Contemporary Irish Literature Stöpsel Dreher Vice Bun for the Office of Hop Management (pictured with his Executive Assistant William Dreher) Cooper and Xenon Robold President and VP of the Official Welcoming Committee Bourbon Zink Office Manager for the Department of Libations Blackie White Director of Library Communications and PR (Purr Relations) Tiger Fuller Pest Control Officer Emeritus Ollie Doherty Chief Barketing Officer for the Department of Scruff Management The two and four-legged staff members can’t do their work without your support. Give today and pets will be delivered to a furry #Rosenstaff member in your honor. rosenbach.org/ways-to-give/donate Woof! Woof!* says Charlie (*loosely translated to thank you for generosity)

If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. Happy birthday, Emily Dickinson! Born on this day in 1830. You can take a behind-the-scenes look at The Rosenbach's collection of Emily's letters in a virtual tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oylzvlPGRNo&feature=emb_logo

There’s only three episodes left of Sundays With Dracula but for the members of the Dracula Club, there’s much more to come! Join before November 1 and you’ll get a full year’s worth of membership benefits to The Rosenbach like 50% off the upcoming virtual Behind the Bookcase tour, Dracula: The Enduring Monster. Oh, and you may have heard that there’s a membership card. Join today: rosenbach.org/the-dracula-club

Now on view: Manjiro: Drifting, 18412020. Originally slated to open in April, this new exhibition examines the life and journey of Manjiro, the first Japanese person to live in the United States. Manjiro’s epic tale begins in 1841, when he left his tiny Japanese village on a fishing trip and a violent storm left him shipwrecked. Highlights of the exhibition include Manjiro’s own illustrated manuscript depicting his world travels, rare letters between Manjiro and the captain ...who rescued him at sea, and much more. This exhibition is presented in partnership with the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia. You can learn more about the exhibition by joining our Curator and Director of Collections Judith M. Guston and Kiyoshi Hirata, Trustee of Center for International Exchange and Director of John Mung International, Inc., tomorrow 10/23 for a conversation about the making of the exhibition. Learn more: rosenbach.org/events/curator-talk-manjiro/

What do Henri Matisse, the Rosenbach brothers, and Gertrude Stein have in common? These two bronze sculptures, of course! Known primarily as a painter, Matisse loved the style and medium of sculpture but only produced for several years as he found them to be unprofitable. Phillip Rosenbach purchased these two sculptures 'Standing Nude' and 'Figure with Cushion' (once owned by Gertrude Stein’s brother!) in 1928 and they are the sole Modernist works in this medium collected by the Rosenbach brothers. More on our blog: rosenbach.org/blog/matisse-at-the-rosenbach

Sundays with Frankenstein doesn’t start until January but the fan art is already rolling in! This one is by Stuart Ramon Hocking. Following our very successful Sundays with Dracula series, we’re bringing you a 15 week deep dive of Mary Shelley’s enduring monster starting on January 24. You can register for the weekly Zoom program here: rosenbach.org/events/sundays-with-frankenstein and join the Facebook group now to get a jump on your Biblioventure: www.facebook.com/groups/sundayswithfrankenstein

I Am an American! The Authorship and Activism of Alice Dunbar-Nelson is LIVE and ready to be explored online at www.alicedunbarnelson.com. Discover the life and work of this important, yet understudied, Harlem Renaissance author, local educator, and Civil Rights activist whose legacy speaks to modern times in extraordinary ways. While we had originally planned for the exhibition to be installed in our galleries, this year had other plans. We’re thrilled to have been able t...o pivot and bring Alice’s story to life in our new virtual space. This project has been years in the making and we’re so grateful to the exhibition’s curators Jesse Erickson and Monet Timmons along with our dedicated community advisory committee and sponsors who made this project possible. #AliceDunbarNelson

After more than seven months of closure, The Rosenbach is reopening to the public tomorrow with timed tickets and safety precautions in place. We can’t wait to see you!

"With freedom, flowers, books, and the moon, who could not be perfectly happy?" Happy birthday to #OscarWilde, born on this day in 1854 Did you know that Wilde made a stop in Philadelphia in the spring of 1882? You can follow in his footsteps with the Wilde in Philadelphia Walking Tour, available now on our website. rosenbach.org/wilde-in-philadelphia-walking-tour/

The bees agree, it’s a gorgeous day for a garden visit! Our pollinator friends love these daisies (Nipponanthemum nipponicum) just as much as we do. Tickets are sold out through the weekend, but starting October 20 The Rosenbach’s galleries reopen alongside the garden. Get your tickets now: rosenbach.org/visit

The Rosenbach Museum & Library reopens to the public on October 20 with pandemic safety protocols and a verdant renovation. Kimberly Haas has the story.

There’s still time to join tonight’s virtual Behind the Bookcase tour - Dracula: The Enduring Monster at 6pm. Join our Sundays with Dracula co-host Edward G. Pettit and The Rosenbach’s librarian Elizabeth Fuller to see Bram Stoker’s handwritten notes along with a look at some of The Rosenbach’s newest acquisitions. If you miss tonight’s tour you can catch it again on October 28. Register: https://rosenbach.org/events/?event_cat=dracula-programs

We are just one week away from launching I Am an American!: The Authorship and Activism of Alice Dunbar-Nelson, the first major museum exhibition to examine the life and work of this important Harlem Renaissance author, educator, and Civil Rights activist. We’re excited to share a sneak peek with you today, the first episode of the Voices of Change podcast that will accompany the digital exhibition. Each episode highlights voices involved in shaping the exhibition and considers how Dunbar-Nelson’s life, times, and work speak to pressing issues facing the United States today. First up is Yolanda Wisher, a two-time Philadelphia Poet Laureate, performing artist, and Rosenbach Board of Directors member. You’ll hear and see more once the exhibition launches on October 20. Stay tuned!

Down a small street in Rittenhouse, hidden behind a brick wall, is the newly renovated garden at The Rosenbach, one of our favorite Secrets of Philadelphia. Ove...rgrown and disused for years, the library/museum used their covid closure time to rejuvenate the back garden. Interpretive guides found on the website link authors in the collection to the plantings in the garden (Dickinson, Moore, Shakespeare, etc.). Free with timed tickets now, admission to the small garden will be included with admission when the museum reopens on October 20. See more

Have you heard the news? The Rosenbach is reopening to the public next week! After more than six months of closure, we’ll be welcoming visitors once again starting on October 20 with safety precautions in place. We’ll be limiting admission with timed tickets available every half hour to maintain safe social distancing in all our spaces. Pre-registering is strongly recommended. Get your tickets now!

Here is Sundays with Dracula Chapter 23. For some reason the livestream didn't work today, so if you watch the stream on fb live, sorry for the wait.