Louisa May Alcott once wrote that she had taken her pen for a bridegroom. Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern, friends and business partners for fifty years, have in many ways taken up their pens and passion for literature much in the same way. The "Holmes & Watson" of the rare book business, Rostenberg and Stern are renowned for unlocking the hidden secret of Louisa May Alcott's life when they discovered her pseudonym, A.M. Barnard, along with her anonymously published "blood and thunder" stories on subjects like transvestitism, hashish smoking, and feminism. Old Books, Rare Friends describes their mutual passion for books and literary sleuthing as they take us on their earliest European book buying jaunts. Using what they call Finger-spitzengefühl, the art of evaluating antiquarian books by handling, experience, and instinct, we are treated to some of their greatest discoveries amid the mildewed basements of London's booksellers after the Blitz. We experience the thrill of finding one of the earliest known books printed in America between 1617-1619 by the Pilgrim Press and learn about the influential role of publisher-printers from the fifteenth century. Like a precious gem, Old Books, Rare Friends is a book to treasure about the companionship of two rare friends and their shared passion for old books.

The dual memoir of two octogenarian antiquarian booksellers and Alcott authorities, this book explores the combined century of literary sleuthing done by Rostenberg and Stern. Like a precious gem, Old Books, Rare Friends is a book to treasure about the companionship of two rare friends and their shared passion for old books. 36 photos.

"Louisa May Alcott once wrote that she had taken her pen for a bride-groom. Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern, friends and business partners for fifty years, have taken up their pens and passion for literature in much the same way. Described as the "Holmes and Watson" of the rare book business, Rostenberg and Stern - in addition to many other extraordinary discoveries in their lifetime of literary sleuthing - unlocked the secret of Louisa May Alcott's hidden life when they discovered her pseudonym, A. M. Barnard, and her anonymously published "blood-and-thunder" stories." "Old Books, Rare Friends chronicles the lives of two young New York women whose passion for learning formed the bond of what would become a lifelong friendship. Madeleine and Leona give us glimpses of their middle-class upbringing, the widening of their intellectual horizons at Barnard and Columbia, the exciting start of their rare book business. They describe their finds on annual European book-hunting jaunts, using what they call Finger-Spitzengefuhl - the art of evaluating antiquarian books by handling, experience, and instinct. We are treated to some of their greatest discoveries in postwar Europe, amid the mildewed basements of London's bookstores after the Blitz, in the tiny treasure rooms at the rear of the libraries of Paris; and in places as remote as Tokyo. With their irresistible humor and characteristic savvy, Leona and Madeleine share with us their double lives as writers and independent scholars as they unlock the secrets and hidden stories found in the pages of rare books."--BOOK JACKET.

"With their irresistible humor and savvy, Leona and Madeleine share their double lives as writers and scholars as they unlock the secrets found in the pages of rare books."--Cover of large print ed.