The Experience
Tucked away among the elegant 19th-century townhomes near Rittenhouse Square, The Rosenbach Museum & Library houses one of the world’s great collections of manuscripts, literature and rare books.
A list of some of the treasures amassed by the Rosenbach brothers is amazing in itself – Lewis Carroll’s own copy of Alice in Wonderland, a first edition of Don Quixote, James Joyce’s handwritten manuscript for Ulysses, and the earliest extant letter from George Washington – but the real treat is to see them among the Egyptian statuary, Persian rugs, 18th-century furniture and Thomas Sully paintings that graced the 1860s mansion during the Rosenbachs’ lifetime.
The library has more than 130,000 manuscripts and 30,000 rare books; the museum boasts the largest U.S. collection of miniature portraits painted in oil on metal.
History
In 1954, after the deaths of the Rosenbach brothers – Dr. A.S.W., a dealer in rare books and manuscripts, and Philip, a dealer of fine arts and antiques – their individual libraries and collections were organized in the doctor’s townhouse. In 2002, the museum expanded into the historic house next door for more research and display space.