The new exhibition on Pre-Internet ‘Social Media’ opening at the Rosenbach Museum and Library may interest members who will be visiting the US soon. Thanks to Anne Scott for forwarding me this information.
The Rosenbach is pleased to announce the upcoming opening of our newest exhibition—Networking Before the Net: Sharing Information in the Pre-Digital Age. Opening January 29, this exhibition explores the fascinating question of whether the internet has truly changed our social interaction with one another, through comparisons of current digital social media platforms to their analog precursors.
Displayed in two galleries in the Rosenbach brothers’ historic 1865 townhouse, Networking Before the Net offers a provocative opportunity to explore the convergence of the past and present through traditional exhibition and digital content sharing. The exhibition examines social media tenets such as image sharing, public commenting and messaging, and the role of the social network in our everyday lives. It explores the similarities between printed pamphlets and blogs, telegrams and text messages, and even shows visitors the 19th century’s version of Instagram.
Highlights include:
- A 1780 broadside written by Benedict Arnold encouraging soldiers to abandon the Continental Army
- An handwritten letter from Greta Garbo to Mercedes de Acosta
- Political pamphlets written by Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe
- An original 1776 Philadelphia printing of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense from the Free Library of Philadelphia collection
The exhibition will be on display until June 16.
