Fred Rosenstock
Fred Asher Rosenstock | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Biala Potok, Galicia, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | February 15, 1986 (aged 90) |
| Occupation(s) | Bookseller, publisher, collector |
| Years active | 1920s–1980s |
| Known for | Antiquarian bookstore owner and western history book specialist in Denver, Colorado |
Fred Asher Rosenstock (November 29, 1895 – February 15, 1986) was an American bookseller, publisher, and collector originally from Austria. He was active in Denver, Colorado, from the 1920s until the mid-1980s.
Early life
Originally named Selig Usher Rosenstock, he was born in 1895 in Biala Potok, Galicia, which was then under Austrian rule. His family emigrated to the United States in 1904, and he was raised in Rochester, New York.
Career
During the First World War, Rosenstock relocated to Washington, D.C., where he worked initially as a civilian and later served as a stenographer for the U.S. Army. Following the war, he briefly took a position with a billboard company before moving west to Denver because of health concerns.
A passionate collector of books since his youth, Rosenstock established the Denver Book Shop in 1922. The antiquarian bookstore faced difficulties at first. After his marriage to Frances Goodman in 1928, he purchased another store in a more advantageous location and renamed it the Bargain Book Store. This shop concentrated on selling school textbooks, which helped sustain the business during the Great Depression. The store was reconstructed after being destroyed by fire in 1948.
By 1960, Rosenstock had shifted his emphasis toward western history. In 1962, he opened Fred A. Rosenstock Books on East Colfax Avenue, specializing in western historical works and exhibiting his collection of western art, including pieces by Charles Marion Russell.
Acknowledged as a prominent figure among western history booksellers, Rosenstock provided materials to major institutions such as Brigham Young University and the Denver Public Library. Through his Old West Publishing Company, he released approximately thirty important publications. In 1972, he launched a gallery dedicated to western art and managed it until he suffered a stroke in 1984. By the mid-1970s, he had sold off his significant art holdings and closed his bookstore.
Personal life and death
Rosenstock married Frances Goodman in 1926; their daughter Marilyn Weiker was born in 1936. Frances passed away in 1972. After experiencing a stroke in 1984, Rosenstock died two years later at the age of ninety.
Further reading
- Fred Rosenstock, A Legend in Books & Art, Donald E. Bower, Foreword by Frank Waters, Northland Press, Flagstaff, Arizona, 1976, 212 pages.