Abraham Simon Wolf Rosenbach (July 22, 1876 – July 1, 1952) was an American collector, scholar, and dealer in rare books and manuscripts. In London, where he frequently attended the auctions at Sotheby's, he was known as "The Terror of the Auction Room." In Paris, he was called "Le Napoléon des Livres" ("The Napoleon of Books"). Many others referred to him as "Dr. R.", a "Robber Baron" and "the Greatest Bookdealer in the World".

Rosenbach is credited with popularizing the collecting of American literature at a time when only European literature was considered collectible. He also advanced the idea of book collecting as a means of investment and published several articles and books to increase interest in rare books and manuscripts.

He bought and sold numerous items throughout his life, including eight Gutenberg Bibles, more than 30 Shakespeare's First Folios, a copy of the Bay Psalm Book and the manuscripts of Ulysses and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The lifetime total of his purchases is estimated to be worth more than $75,000,000 in 2019. The A.S.W. Rosenbach Collection of American Judaica includes over 350 books and pamphlets published in America before 1850 that relate to Jews or their experiences in the Americas.

Early life and education

Abraham Simon Wolf Rosenbach was born on July 22, 1876, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was referred to by many in the public as "Abe", with some close-friends calling him "Rosy" and "Abie" by his family. He was the youngest of the eight children of Morris Rosenbach (May 14, 1820 – May 8, 1885) and Isabella H. Polock (November 26, 1834 – July 25, 1906). His mother was born and raised in Philadelphia, where she was an active member of the Jewish community, involved with the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society, the Jewish Orphans' Society and Congregation Mikveh Israel. It was there he learned how to determine book values, how to use bibliography and how to talk to collectors.

At the age of 11, Rosenbach started collecting books when he purchased an illustrated edition of Reynard the Fox at the auction house of Stanislaus Vincent Henkel. He lowered the price to $24 and allowed the young man to make weekly payments out of his school allowance for the book due to Henkel's working relationship with his Uncle Moses.

As Polock had no will, most of his store inventory went up for auction on March 9 and 10, 1904 by Stanislaus Vincent Henkels at the book auction rooms of Davis & Harvey at 112 Walnut Street. The brothers were able to buy most of the inventory. What remained of Polock's estate after the sale was sold to The Rosenbach company by Polock's sisters, Isabella Rosenbach, Sophia Binswanger and Miriam Wolf, for $1,000.

Rosenbach worked with Henry E. Huntington to help assemble the collections of the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. He did the same for Henry Clay Folger at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. Other famous clients included J. P. Morgan, Lessing Rosenwald, and Harry Elkins Widener. In a letter to Harriet Shaw Weaver on May 24, 1924, referring to a telegram that misspelled the title as "Ullyses", Joyce wrote of Rosenbach in a limerick, saying:

A lifelong Philadelphian, Rosenbach and his brother lived at a four-storied 1865 townhouse at 2010 Delancey Place, from 1926 to 1952. In 1928, Rosenbach purchased the manuscript of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland for $77,000 at auction. The act angered many in Great Britain at the loss of the item. Rosenbach would go on to sell it for $97,000 and it was eventually returned to Britain.

Rosenbach was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1927 and the American Philosophical Society in 1928. For the Antiquarian Society, he wrote and read two papers. The first in 1934 was titled "The Libraries of the Presidents of the United States" and the second 1938 named "The First Theatrical Company in America". Right before his death, he was working on a third paper called "Some Discoveries in Early Pennsylvania-German Printing".

In 1942, the two brothers liquidated their antique furniture inventory to strictly deal in books. They moved their newly downsized collection to 1618 Locust Street, Philadelphia. This townhome was designed in 1850 by architect John Notman. The company would operate out of this building until the deaths of the two brothers. The price paid for the whole lot was $2,000. Rosenbach used the penis as a conversation piece for parties, and in 1927 temporarily loaned it to the Museum of French Art in New York where it was displayed on a small velvet cushion. Rosenbach sold the penis to collector Donald Hyde in 1947.

Rosenbach also produced several book checklist, including Early American Children's Books (1933), published by the noted The Anthoensen Press, as a standard reference.

At the time of his death in 1952, he was Harbor-master of the Board of Commerce and Navigation of the State of New Jersey.

Rosenbach Museum & Library

Shortly before his death, he bequeathed his estate to The Philip H. and A. S. W. Rosenbach Foundation, which had been established in 1950 by the two brothers to foster interest in books, paintings, and other works of art. the Rosenbach Museum & Library officially became affiliated with the Free Library of Philadelphia, becoming "The Rosenbach at the Free Library".

State Historical Marker

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On April 2, 2008, the Rosenbach Museum & Library received an official State Historical Marker by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in recognition of the lasting contributions of museum co-founder, Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach. The commission commemorated Rosenbach's legacy as one of America's greatest rare book dealers and his lasting contributions to Philadelphia and beyond with a marker in front of the museum, located at 2008-2010 Delancey Place in the city's historic Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. The sign reads:

<blockquote>

"Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach (1876 – 1952) Among America's most influential rare book dealers, he helped build many of the nation's great libraries. He and his brother Philip established the Rosenbach Museum & Library to share their personal collection with the public. They lived on this block from 1926 to 1952."</blockquote>

A.S.W. Rosenbach Lectures in Bibliography

In 1928, Rosenbach bestowed to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania a gift for the purpose of establishing a lecture series on bibliography and book history. Selected participants present about three lectures over two weeks at the university. The first A.S.W. Rosenbach Lectures in Bibliography took place in 1931, with Christopher Morley as the first fellow.

As of 2023, the A.S.W. Rosenbach Lectures in Bibliography are the longest continuously running series of bibliographical lectureships in the U.S. The University of Pennsylvania Press has published several of these lectures into full-length books.

Musical

In 2004, The Rosenbach Museum and Library commissioned writer Ben Katchor to create something to commemorate the museum's 50th anniversary. Bill Adair, the museum's director at the time, asked Katchor to create a graphic novel, but instead he partnered with Mark Mulcahy to create a musical. The Rosenbach Company: A Tragicomedy premiered the 2004 Philadelphia Fringe Festival and was performed at The Public Theater in New York City in 2006. The role of Abie Rosenbach was played by Mulcahy.

Toby Zinman praised the show in a 2004 review in Variety.

References

Further reading

  • Rosenbach, A. S. W. (Abraham Simon Wolf), and Don Ward. The Collected Catalogues of Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach, 1904-1951. New York: Arno Press, 1968.
  • Silver, Joel 2010. Dr. Rosenbach and Mr. Lilly : Book Collecting in a Golden Age. Newtown, Pa.: Bird & Bull Press.
  • Wolf, Edwin II; Fleming, John F. (1960). Rosenbach: a biography. World Publishing Company.
  • The Rosenbach Museum and Library
  • Rosenbach receives historic marker, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

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