Archive: 2013

1. The old scriptorium

   This little room off the Reading Room has always been known as the Scriptorium, although we have no idea why – it’s unlikely to have ever been a place where...

   21st June 2013 • Read more

2. Heart of oak

   The Reading Room floor has now been taken up and the beams exposed ready for repair and conservation. These photos show the sheer size of the two main beams, which...

   20th June 2013 • Read more

3. The strange case of the Galway salmon fishery

   Last week, we posted a series of mysterious nineteenth-century photographs of Galway on our Flickr page. We had no idea why this album, containing about 120 prints of coastal scenes...

   19th June 2013 • Read more

4. Thank you James!

   Today we say ‘goodbye’ to James Avison, who has done sterling work here at the Library for the last few months. James has been working at Chetham’s as part of...

   14th June 2013 • Read more

5. A new view of the Reading Room

   Work has begun on preparing the Reading Room for the structural works to the floor. Most of the furniture and all of the books and paintings have been carefully removed,...

   14th June 2013 • Read more

6. Fish and ships

   We have recently been exploring some of the delightful decorative details on Christopher Saxton’s 1579 atlas (previously featured as one of our 101 Treasures). A number of different engravers, mainly...

   12th June 2013 • Read more

7. The drama of Belle Vue

   In recent months we are pleased to have welcomed Theatre and Performance MA students from Manchester University to the Library as part of their placements with the Institute for Cultural...

   7th June 2013 • Read more

8. John Bradford’s Bible

   Congratulations to Bishop David Walker, whose appointment as the next Bishop of Manchester was announced on Wednesday. When the Bishop is eventually installed (the Cathedral will be a building site...

   7th June 2013 • Read more

9. What’s hidden in your tea leaves?

   Here at the Library we like nothing better than a proper cup of tea made in the pot with tea leaves, so we were thrilled to stumble upon a copy...

   5th June 2013 • Read more

10. The Legend of Driff

      ‘A corset may be what this shop most resembles. The parts that show will be very attractive but those that don’t will be under considerable pressure.’ Driff’s, 1986. 
Every...

    30th May 2013 • Read more