Archive: 2013

1. — 5th September 2013

   Catriona meets Edward Watkin

     Before she left, our recent volunteer Catriona Graffius wrote a short piece for us about her experience of working with the Edward Watkin collection. Catriona writes: “Coming to Chetham’s...

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2. — 22nd August 2013

   Turning on the waterworks

   On this day in 1890, Alderman Sir John James Harwood laid the foundation stone of the dam at Thirlmere, the first stage of the project to take water from the...

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3. — 21st August 2013

   Swinging on a star

     On this day in 1893 the Barton Swing Aqueduct carried its first barge along the Bridgewater Canal and over the top of the soon-to-be opened Manchester Ship Canal. The...

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4. —

   Come and see the Reading Room!

   The Reading Room is now open after several weeks of major structural work. The furniture is back in place and everything is clean and polished and ready to receive visitors,...

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5. — 16th August 2013

   The Reading Room re-opens next week!

   We’re pleased to report that the Reading Room floor has now been replaced. A team of cleaners are now hoovering up all the dust and debris, and polishing all the...

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6. —

   Views in Egypt

     Views in Egypt, from the original drawings in the possession of Sir Robert Ainslie, taken during his embassy to Constantinople by Luigi Mayer; engraved by and under the direction...

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7. — 15th August 2013

   Happy Birthday Thomas De Quincey

   Today is the birthday of Thomas de Quincey, who was born in Manchester on August 15th 1785. His father, a textile importer and a founder member of the Manchester Literary...

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8. — 14th August 2013

   It was all yellow

   The Library’s copy of William Tyndale’s New Testament takes centre stage on the website this week. Apart from being the first English translation to be taken directly from the Greek...

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9. —

   Welcome to Catriona!

   Welcome to our newest volunteer, Catriona Graffius, who is working on listing the newly acquired Sir Edward Watkin collection. Catriona is reading English at Christ Church, Oxford, and will be...

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10. — 7th August 2013

    Who’s been eating my book?

    We recently had a book returned to us from the bookbinders with an unusual warning: over thirty leaves of our copy of Lactantius’s works, printed in Venice in 1478, had...

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