Background
He was born on May 14, 1817 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, the son of Hyman Polock, of Amsterdam, who with his wife, Rebecca (Barnett), emigrated to America in 1811 immediately after their marriage in London and, settling in Philadelphia, became one of the most prominent and active members of the Jewish community in that city.
Moses early showed a remarkable interest in books, and his inclinations were encouraged by his father, who determined to allow him to follow his hobby as a career.
Education
There is no information about his education.
Career
On the retirement of William McCarty from McCarty & Davis in 1831, Moses Polock, then fourteen years of age, obtained a clerkship in the store. He made the best use of the opportunities offered by such a position, and also made many notable friends, since the store was at various times a rendezvous for Edgar Allan Poe, James Fenimore Cooper, Noah Webster, Charles Godfrey Leland, Herman Melville, and other men of letters.
On the death of Thomas Davis in 1851, Moses Polock acquired the business, with money bequeathed to him by his former employer for that purpose. From 1853 he carried on the business in his own name. As soon as he had made a sufficient fortune by publishing modern books, Polock retired from that business and established himself as a rare-book dealer.
At this time many famous American collections were being formed, and among the Pollock's store were such collectors as James Lenox, Samuel L. M. Barlow, Samuel W. Pennypacker, Henry C. Murphy, and Clarence S. Bement, George Brinley, and J. C. Brevoort, whose libraries, together with those of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the John Carter Brown Library in Providence, and other notable institutions, owe much to the knowledge and acumen of the Philadelphia bibliophile and dealer. In the course of time Moses Polock's passion for his book treasures grew to such an extent that money would not buy them from him.
His collection of children's books, the first of its kind in the United States, he bequeathed to his nephew and successor in the business, Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach. In 1895, having spent sixty-five years in the book trade, he made a quasi retirement, and a large portion of his remarkable stock of Americana, including the Franklin imprints and books from the library of George Washington, were sold at public auction by Stan V. Henkels of Philadelphia.
He died eight in 1903.
Personality
His knowledge of the early history of Pennsylvania and particularly of Philadelphia was profound, and both historians and bibliographers have frequently acknowledged their indebtedness to him.
