Madeleine Bettina Stern (July 1, 1912 – August 18, 2007), born in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, was an

independent scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a terminal ...

and rare book dealer. She graduated from

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

in 1932 with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

. She received her

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in English literature from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1934. Stern was particularly known for her work on the writer

Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Good Wives'' (1869), ''Little Men'' (1871), and ''Jo's Boys'' ...

. She received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1943 to write a

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of Alcott, which was eventually published in 1950. In 1945, she and her friend Leona Rostenberg opened Rostenberg & Stern Books. Rostenberg and Stern were active members of the

Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) is an organization in the United States for dealers in rare and antiquarian books. The association is a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB). History Fo ...

, at a time when few women were members. The pair lived and worked in Rostenberg's house in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. They were known for creating unique rare book catalogs. In 1960, Stern helped found the New York Antiquarian Book Fair. Stern and Leona Rostenberg 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.

Books by Madeleine B. Stern

* ''The Life of

Margaret Fuller Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movemen ...

'', 1942. * ''Louisa May Alcott'', 1950 (revised editions published in 1971 and 1996). * ''Purple Passage: The Life of Mrs. Frank Leslie'', 1955 (revised edition, 1970). * ''Imprints on History: Book Publishers and American Frontiers'', 1956. * ''We the Women: Career Firsts of Nineteenth-Century America'', 1963. * ''So Much in a Lifetime: The Story of Dr.

Isabel Barrows (Katherine) Isabel Hayes Chapin Barrows (April 17, 1845 – October 24, 1913) was the first woman employed by the United States State Department. She worked as a stenographer for William H. Seward in 1868 while her husband, Samuel June Barrows ...

'', 1964. * ''Queen of Publishers' Row: Mrs. Frank Leslie'', 1965. * ''The Pantarch: A Biography of

Stephen Pearl Andrews Stephen Pearl Andrews (March 22, 1812 – May 21, 1886) was an American libertarian socialist, individualist anarchist, linguist, political philosopher, and outspoken Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. Life Andrews was born ...

'', 1968. * ''Heads and Headlines: The Phrenological Fowlers'', 1971. * ''Books and Book People in Nineteenth-Century America'', 1978. * ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

: Rare-Book Collector'', 1981. * ''A Phrenological Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Americans'', 1982. * ''The Game's a Head: A Phrenological Case-Study of Sherlock Holmes and

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

'', 1983. * ''Antiquarian Bookselling in the United States: A History from the Origins to the 1940s'', 1985. * '' Nicholas Gouin Dufief of Philadelphia, Franco-American Bookseller, 1776–1834'', The Philobiblon Club, 1988, . * ''Studies in the Franco-American Booktrade during the Late 18th and Early 19th Centuries'', 1994. * ''The Feminist Alcott: Stories of a Woman's Power'', 1996. * ''

: From Blood & Thunder to Hearth and Home'', 1998.

Books co-authored by Leona Rostenberg and 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.

Books edited by Madeleine B. Stern

* ''Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott'', 1975. * ''Plots and Counterplots: More Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott'', 1976 (in paperback, ''A Marble Woman'', 1976). * ''Louisa's Wonder Book-An Unknown Alcott Juvenile; With an Introduction and Bibliography'', 1975. * ''A Double Life: Newly Discovered Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott'', 1988. and others.

References

External links

Madeleine B. Stern Collections
in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine B. Stern Papers at Columbia University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, Madeleine B. 1912 births 2007 deaths Barnard College alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni 20th-century American historians American feminists Writers from New York City American women historians 20th-century American women writers Historians from New York (state) 21st-century American women

Books by Madeleine B. Stern

Books co-authored by Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine B. Stern

Books edited by Madeleine B. Stern

See also

References

External links