Leona Rostenberg (December 28, 1908 – March 17, 2005) was an independent scholar and
rare books dealer born in
New York, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Biography
Rostenberg was born in
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
on December 28, 1908. Her father Adolf was a
dermatologist
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medica ...
.
Rostenberg and her decades-long friend and business partner
Madeleine B. Stern became widely-known in the late 1990s while in their late eighties when their memoir on the rare book trade, ''Old Books, Rare Friends'' became a best seller.
In addition to many books on book history and
book collecting
Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is ''bibliophilia'', and some ...
, Rostenberg wrote numerous articles over the years for many publications including ''
Journal of Modern History
''The Journal of Modern History'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering European intellectual, political, and cultural history, published by the University of Chicago Press. Established in 1929, the journal covers events from appr ...
'', ''
American Historical Review
''The American Historical Review'' is a quarterly academic history journal and the official publication of the American Historical Association. It targets readers interested in all periods and facets of history and has often been described as the ...
'', and ''
Library Quarterly''.
Rostenberg died on March 17, 2005 after suffering from heart problems for two years.
Books
* ''English Publishers in the Graphic Arts, 1599–1700: A Study of the Print-Sellers and Publishers of Engravings, Art and Architectural Manuals, Maps, and Copy-Books'', 1963.
* ''Literary, Political, Scientific, Religious, and Legal Publishing, Printing, and Bookselling in England, 1551–1700: Twelve Studies'' (two volume set), 1965.
* ''The Minority Press and the English Crown: A Study in Repression, 1558–1625'', 1971.
* ''An Antiquarian's Credo'', 1976.
* ''Bibliately'', 1978.
* ''The Library of
Robert Hooke
Robert Hooke FRS (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an English polymath active as a scientist, natural philosopher and architect, who is credited to be one of two scientists to discover microorganisms in 1665 using a compound microscope that ...
: The Scientific Book Trade of Restoration England'', 1989.
;Co-authored with Madeleine B. Stern
* ''Old and Rare: Thirty Years in the Book Business'', 1974.
* ''Between Boards: New Thoughts on Old Books'', 1978.
* ''Bookman's Quintet: Five Catalogues about Books: Bibliography, Printing History, Booksellers, Libraries, Presses, Collectors'', 1979.
* ''Quest Book—Guest Book: A Biblio-Folly'', 1993.
* ''Connections: Ourselves—Our Books'', 1994.
* ''Old Books in the Old World: Reminiscences of Book-buying Abroad'', 1996.
* ''Old Books, Rare Friends: Two Literary Sleuths and Their Shared Passion'', 1997.
* ''New Worlds in Old Books'', 1999.
* ''Books Have Their Fates'', 2001.
* ''Bookends: Two Women, One Enduring Friendship'', 2001.
* ''From Revolution to Revolution: Perspectives on Publishing and Bookselling 1501-2001'', 2002.
See also
*
Antiquarian book trade in the United States The antiquarian book trade in the United States is an aspect of book collecting and publishing. The term ''antiquarian'', in general, refers to antiquities and collectible items usually considered old and rare, usually in reference to books, but is ...
References
External links
Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine B. Stern Papers at Columbia University
1908 births
2005 deaths
20th-century American historians
American feminists
American people of German-Jewish descent
Writers from New York City
American women historians
20th-century American women writers
Historians from New York (state)
21st-century American women
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