The Rosenbach Podcast

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 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.

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.

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.

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.