Rosenbach, Abraham

Rosenbach, Abraham (Simon Wolf)

(1876–1952) book dealer/collector; born in Philadelphia. After earning his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, he joined his brother Philip Rosenbach in the antique business (1902), soon branching out to sell rare books and manuscripts. As a dealer, he helped assemble the volumes at the core of such institutions as the Huntington Library, the Widener Library, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Harkness collection (now in the Library of Congress). Over the years he also became one of the world's major collectors, owning such items as James Joyce's manuscript copy of Ulysses. A legend in the book world, he wrote such works as A Book Hunter's Holiday (1936).