The Pan African Conference (1900) and the Frankland Family Archive
Archivist James Peters writes about the first Pan African Conference and its ties to the Frankland family archive, held at the John Rylands Library.
Category: Collections
‘Take no distaste of my words, though they be a woman’s writing’
Guest author Dr. Naomi Baker discusses Rose Thurgood’s conversion narrative (1636-7), one of the earliest known English conversion narratives, giving us rare insight into religious women’s lives and beliefs in the decades before the English Civil War
Three Near-Identical Voltaire Letters
Guest authors Dr Zoe Screti and Dr Gillian Pink investigate a curious coincidence surrounding three near-identical letters by French philosopher Voltaire
Cotton, Botany & Empire: Tracing botanical sciences in the archives of the first industrial city
Guest author Arianna Tozzi, Early Career Fellow at the John Rylands in 2024-2025, writes about the role of botanical innovations in developing the high-quality cottons used in textile manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution
Sci-fi and satire: William Gifford on gaslight c. 1808
Guest author Dr Roseanna Kettle, Early Career Fellow at the John Rylands in 2024-2025, writes about the satirical work by William Gifford on the topic of gaslight technology in Georgian London
Sir Edward Frankland: water, politics and profits
Archivist James Peters talks about Sir Edward Frankland’s career in the surprisingly politically charged subject of analysing water pollution levels
3D printing Cuneiform 931
Senior Photographer Tony Richards writes about 3D printing a facsimile of Cuneiform 931 as a handling object for the public, alongside the original, at the Wellcome Collection as part of the Thirst: In Search of Water exhibition.
A Gothic Coffer
Guest author Ed Potten discusses a newly acquired 15th century coffret containing a woodcut print
Filming a George Gissing Collection Encounter at the John Rylands Library
Creative Arts Archivist Jessica Smith writes about the George Gissing collections at the John Rylands Library and how these are used for teaching and research
Celebrating Janmashtami the Persian Way: Sānval Singh and the Bhāgavat Purāṇa in Persian MS 961
A guest blog by Pranav Prakash, specialist in the comparative study of book arts, literary cultures and religions in South Asian and Persian societies