Old and Rare: Forty Years in the Book Business

by Leona Rostenberg, Madeleine B. Stern

A reviewer stated in a glowing "If you love books at all, then go forth and hunt down this one. It is a rare treasure in itself, an authentic feelgood odyssey through the world of booksellers, their wares and their curious habitats."

Genres: Books About Books

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Leona Rostenberg was born in the Bronx on December 28, 1908, to Dr. Adolph and Louisa D. Rostenberg. Her father was a dermatologist. She met Ms. Stern in 1930 while she was a senior at New York University and Ms. Stern was a freshman at Barnard.

Ms. Stern lent Ms. Rostenberg $1,000 to start her rare-book business and eventually joined her as partner. They lived first in Ms. Rostenberg's family house in the Bronx, and then in Manhattan.

The discovery in 1942 of the works by Alcott, all written before she gained fame as the author of "Little Women," brought a moment of detective-work thrill for Ms. Rostenberg and her partner and forever altered Alcott scholarship.

A past president of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, Ms. Rostenberg wrote numerous books herself: scholarly works on printing history, and memoirs written with Ms. Stern that twinned their love of literary sleuthing with reminiscences of their life together.

Reviews

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done and worth reading but some of the descriptions went a bit long. Think it would be great as a reference book in a lot of ways.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful romp through bibliomania. I like listening to two old timers talk about their book hunts.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific edutainment for bibliophiles and collectors.

[Julia Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story of two women who became rare book dealers. One of the most interesting parts of the book is their descriptions of England in the immediate post-war period.