“The Moriarty of the Book World”: Thomas J. Wise at The John Rylands Library
PhD student Ellesse Patterson reflects on the relationship between The John Rylands Library and one of Britain’s most notorious literaryContinue Reading
Tag: Research
Manchester’s Global Connections Past and Present: Co-Creating Knowledge Through Collection Encounters
Dr Josephine Tierney reflects on how a conversation at one of the library’s Collection Encounters led to an exciting discovery,Continue Reading
‘We are just ordinary people who believe the Bible, and have found in the Christian faith something real’: the intriguing story of Parkhill Chapel
Reader Services Assistant Angela Petyt-Whittaker writes about exploring the history and significance of a Brethren chapel’s archive.
‘A plan for Manchester and Salford’ and studying Robert Owen in Manchester
Guest author José Álvarez talks about two lesser-explored stages of Robert Owen’s life, drawing information from a beautiful map of Manchester and Salford
‘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
Introducing the Early European Print collection
John Gandy, Incunabula Cataloguer at the John Rylands Library, talks about the newly published early printing collection on Manchester Digital Collections