A Collector’s Collection:The Rosenbach Museum & Library
The reconstructed living room of American modernist poet Marianne Moore was relocated to the Rosenbach Museum & Library.
The emergence of the Rosenbachs as a dynamic collecting duo, and of A.S.W. as one of the most significant book dealers of his time, was no accident. Rather, it was part of a cleverly crafted plan concocted by the Rosenbach brothers. Early on, it was decided that A.S.W., because of his knowledge and background in literature (in which he held a Ph.D.—thus his “Dr.” nickname ) and history, would become the rare book man; brother Philip, more the aesthete, would control the fine and decorative arts aspects of the business. They went on to activate this plan brilliantly, creating a virtual empire in the collecting trade.
Luckily, this collecting empire has been preserved through the founding of The Rosenbach Museum & Library, an incredible resource for scholars, tourists, book dealers, and school kids alike that exists to honor the brothers as collectors and to honor collecting itself as a pursuit. (It is the only institution of which this author is aware that has posited the honoring of collecting as an enterprise as central to its mission.) This Museum, which now spreads over some three adjacent townhouses on DeLancey Place in central Philadelphia, is a truly remarkable place worthy of a stopover for anyone traveling to that historic city.
This reporter stopped by the Museum in February 2003 and was generously treated to a tour of the facilities as well as a lengthy talk with Mr. Michael J. Barsanti, Director of Special Projects. A transcript of my conversation with Mr. Barsanti will follow later in this article. First, however, I’d like to give the reader some more of a perspective on the Rosenbach brothers and A.S.W. Rosenbach in particular by indulging in a long quote from a brochure prepared by the Museum staff.
The Rosenbach Brothers
Philip H. Rosenbach (1863-1953) and Abraham Simon Wolf Rosenbach (1876-1952) were the second and eighth children, respectively, born to Morris and Isabella Rosenbach. They began their lives with neither great wealth nor high social standing. Although their maternal lineage linked them to some of Pennsylvania’s earliest and most prestigious Jewish families, their father was a relative newcomer, having immigrated to the United States in 1844. He supported the family as a shopkeeper before declaring bankruptcy in 1877, just a year after A.S.W.’s birth.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
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Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
