A. S. W. Rosenbach

Abraham Simon Wolf Rosenbach (July 22, 1876 – July 1, 1952) was an American collector, scholar, and dealer in rare books and manuscripts. In London, where he frequently attended the auctions at Sotheby's, he was known as "The Terror of the Auction Room." In Paris, he was called "Le Napoléon des Livres" ("The Napoleon of Books"). Many others referred to him as "Dr. R.", a "Robber Baron" and "the Greatest Bookdealer in the World".

Rosenbach is credited with popularizing the collecting of American literature at a time when only European literature was considered collectible. He also advanced the idea of book collecting as a means of investment and published several articles and books to increase interest in rare books and manuscripts.

He bought and sold numerous items throughout his life, including eight Gutenberg Bibles, more than 30 Shakespeare's First Folios, a copy of the Bay Psalm Book and the manuscripts of ''Ulysses'' and ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. The lifetime total of his purchases is estimated to be worth more than $75,000,000 in 2019.

His philanthropic contributions include donating his collection of children's books to the Free Library of Philadelphia, establishing the Rosenbach Fellowship in Bibliography at the University of Pennsylvania and willing his estate to the Rosenbach Foundation, which established the Rosenbach Museum & Library. Rosenbach was also closely involved in the founding of the American Jewish Historical Society (established 1892), and his early donation of printed books and ephemera relating to American Judaica provided the core of the original rare book collection. The A.S.W. Rosenbach Collection of American Judaica includes over 350 books and pamphlets published in America before 1850 that relate to Jews or their experiences in the Americas. Provided by Wikipedia