Blog

1. Rocque of ages ago

   John Rocque’s exquisite 1746 map of London is quite simply a national treasure. Chetham’s Library copy has obviously seen plenty of use but remains a thing of enormous beauty which...

   30th November 2011 • Read more

2. Woe to the fattest

   In Friday’s post we looked at Edward Carpenter’s political tract England’s Ideal, part of a bound collection of thirty miscellaneous pamphlets we recently acquired from Modern First Editions of Ilkley....

   28th November 2011 • Read more

3. Rotten to the core

   You might rightly assume that a library with a list of past users including Karl Marx, Daniel Defoe and John Wesley would not be short on works of penetrating social...

   25th November 2011 • Read more

4. Roll up, roll up

   There’s a real treat for lovers of all things medieval over on the 101 Treasures pages this week. This beautiful paper volvelle forms part of Astrologica, a work of astrology...

   24th November 2011 • Read more

5. Hello Boys!

   This alluring threesome may be found on the pages of Theodor de Bry’s Emblemata nobilitati et vulgo scitu digna which is showcased this week on our 101 Treasures page. The...

   16th November 2011 • Read more

6. Philip’s bird

   Those of you who enjoyed meeting Philip the Monster may be interested to make the acquaintance of this magnificent creature known as Avis Philippensis – or Philip’s bird. She makes...

   14th November 2011 • Read more

7. Introducing Philip the Monster

   This splendid fellow goes by the name of Monstrum Philip, and is to be found surrounded by some of his favourite things in James Petiver’s Catalogus classicus & topicus of...

   11th November 2011 • Read more

8. A sudden and terrible raine

   The infamous Manchester weather has been a preoccupation for local residents for well over three hundred and fifty years, according to the earliest surviving history of the town. Richard Hollingworth’s...

   9th November 2011 • Read more

9. Glass slide collection

   The Library has a large and varied collection of glass slides, mostly collected by the antiquarian J.J. Phelps in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Read more about them...

   4th November 2011 • Read more

10. A bewitching sight

    A Happy Halloween to all our readers! May you ward off all the ghoulies and ghosties who beat a path to your door and enjoy a trouble-free time in the...

    31st October 2011 • Read more