Where is the original manuscript of James Joyce's Ulysses?

The original manuscript of James Joyce's Ulysses is a part of a great collection of rare books, manuscripts, and fine and decorative arts objects, including some of the best-known literary and historical objects in the world at The Rosenbach.

The Rosenbach is a not-for-profit museum and library located in Philadelphia, USA.

HISTORICAL NOTE

Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach was well known as a collector of English literature but is perhaps best known for owning Joyce’s original manuscript for Ulysses. Joyce had sold the manuscript shortly before the book was published in 1922, to John Quinn, an Irish American lawyer and collector who had defended the publishers of The Little Review when they were prosecuted for obscenity in 1920. Quinn sold the manuscript with many others from his collection in January 1924, and Dr. Rosenbach purchased it for $1,975, slightly below the reserve price of $2,000. Joyce attempted to buy back his manuscript, but Rosenbach refused to sell. Rosenbach did, however, offer to buy the corrected page proofs of Ulysses. Dr. Rosenbach and Joyce never met.

Dr. Rosenbach also owned a handful of other Joyce works, including a first edition of Ulysses, given to him by the publisher and auctioneer Mitchell Kennerley in 1922, when it was still banned in the United States.