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  1. Richard Johnson, the First Librarian: No Surplus Surplice?

  2. Chetham’s Librarians: Lives and Legacies

  3. Humphrey Chetham’s Dinner

  4. New Librarian announced

Archive: 2013

  1. Sarum Missal

    The Library’s extremely fine fourteenth-century Sarum Missal was bought from William Clayton in 1712 for £1-01-0. It is believed to date from the reign of Richard II, and there is...

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  2. Delights for the eyes and the mind

    These beautifully hand-coloured engravings are taken from Les delices des yeux et de l’esprit, ou collection generale des differentes especes de coquillages que la mer renferme by Georg Wolfgang Knorr...

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  3. …said the gynaecologist to the Bishop

    Visitors to the Library’s Reading Room may not be aware that there are more books contained there than initially meet the eye, for in the corner by the donations box...

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  4. Eighteenth-century birds

      These two beautifully illustrated eighteenth-century ornithological works came off the shelves recently and we took the opportunity to photograph some of their exquisite hand-coloured plates. The images above and...

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  5. Walker’s Croft Burial Ground

    The redevelopment of Manchester Victoria has meant that bodies from the former Walker’s Croft burial ground are being exhumed and re-buried in Southern Cemetery. Walker’s Croft was in use from...

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  7. Isaac Newton: The Last Magician

    BBC2 is showing an hour-long programme about Isaac Newton tonight (Isaac Newton: The Last Magician, Friday 12th April, 9-10pm). We are proud to own several works by Isaac Newton, including...

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  8. Living without working

    This radical manifesto addressed to “the Electors and Non-Electors of the Borough of Oldham” was produced by Thomas Micklethwaite, who proposed to stand for election for Oldham in the General...

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  9. M-m-m-m-m-m-m-my Pomona…

    Pomona Gardens was one of the most important pleasure gardens in nineteenth-century Manchester. Pomona was opened in 1845 by William and Joseph Beardsley who leased land in Stretford from Sir...

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  10. The magic of Belle Vue

    In recent months we have had four masters students from Manchester University working on the Belle Vue collection as part of their placement. Find out what they’ve been up to...

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