Blog

1. Book of spells

   People often remark that the Library reminds them of a scene from Harry Potter, and this week’s treasure is straight out of the mysterious world of sixteenth-century magic and wizardry....

   25th June 2014 • Read more

2. A model for ‘Game of Thrones’?

   Some of the illustrations in Turris Babel (Amsterdam: 1679) look remarkably like the opening credits to Game of Thrones, but in fact the book was the German Jesuit scholar Athanasius...

   20th June 2014 • Read more

3. John Dalton: A Cumbrian Philosopher

   A new book on John Dalton has just been published by Books Cumbria. Thomas Smith’s John Dalton: A Cumbrian Philosopher looks at the ‘man generally thought of as being Mancunian...

   20th June 2014 • Read more

4. Looking back at Japan

   These beautiful hand-coloured photographs of Japan at the turn of the last century are taken from the Leech collection, and were acquired by Sir Bosdin and Lady Edith Leech during...

   18th June 2014 • Read more

5. Belle Vue: Entertainment Showground of the World

   We are very pleased to have been associated with this excellent new book on Belle Vue, published by the Manchester Evening News. Featuring images from our collection, the book takes...

   18th June 2014 • Read more

6. Gin Lane

   For World Gin Day tomorrow, here’s a terrible warning for us all from Hogarth’s famous ‘Gin Lane’ series. Read more about our collection of Hogarth prints here.

   13th June 2014 • Read more

7. A backhanded compliment…

   An entry from the diary of John Reed, Jun 6th 1951. At this time Reed was a second year undergraduate at Magdalen College Oxford, reading English under C.S. Lewis. After...

   6th June 2014 • Read more

8. Sad songs say so much

   Although it’s fair to say that most Victorian comic songs remain completely baffling and unfunny to modern ears, sad songs from the nineteenth century often retain a strong emotional pull....

   5th June 2014 • Read more

9. A Thril a minute

   We recently picked up this splendid commemorative medallion from Turnstock Collectables, one of our favourite sources of ephemera. Dating from 1894 and toasting success to the Manchester Ship Canal and...

   5th June 2014 • Read more

10. Beautiful book covers

    More from the Asheton-Tonge collection today in the form of these most attractive book covers from the 1850s. The artist responsible for The Gold Worshippers is unknown but Pictures of...

    30th May 2014 • Read more