As the United States enters another contentious and consequential presidential election cycle, we explore fundamental questions about the history and future of the highest office in the land.

Join The Rosenbach for an examination of how James Joyce’s famous novel Ulysses speaks to contemporary conversations about the long-term legacies of colonialism and imperialism.

Explore the life, works, and complex legacy of Herman Melville, author of the iconic Moby-Dick. Making use of The Rosenbach’s extensive Melville holdings and numerous loans from partner organizations, including rare manuscripts and first editions, the exhibition examines how Melville fled to the watery fringes of 19th-century life to grasp core truths about American society—and even human nature itself.

Manjiro’s epic tale begins in 1841, when, as a teenager, he left his tiny Japanese village on a fishing trip. A violent storm left him shipwrecked and set the course that would lead Manjiro to become the first Japanese person to live in the United States. In partnership with the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia’s JapanPhilly2020 initiative

Robert Burns had a complex relationship with the women in his life. He wrote legendary love poetry, engaged in spirited intellectual dialogue with female thinkers, and damaged the opportunity and social mobility of some women by his privileged approach to intimate relationships.

The American experiment in democratic government brings together all kinds of people to participate in civic life. This display of rare books, manuscripts, and artworks highlights a diversity of individual experiences in our country’s history, from the founding of Plymouth Colony through the turmoil of the Civil War.

The Rosenbach’s co-founder Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach assembled three astonishing collections that document Jewish firsts: the first Hebrew printed books in the world, the first books by and about Jewish Americans, and the artifacts of the Gratzes, one of Philadelphia’s earliest and most prominent Jewish families.