Tag Archives: John Rylands Library

Mar 11 2025
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Daily Post, Interior

Manuscript weights

Monday 10th March 2025, 3.35pm (day 4,946)

Manuscript weights, 10/3/25

I am still making my fortnightly Monday visits to the John Rylands Library for my Palaeography (literally, ‘old writing’) course. With two classes after today’s to go, we have reached “Early Modern English Scripts”. I do not know whether this will ever have any impact on my life, but it’s been interesting enough. Manuscript pages should be touched as little as possible, so rather than holding them down by hand, one should use weights, two types of which are seen here. These will be the kind of thing, never seen in other contexts, that some tiny specialist company based in an old mill in Bradford-on-Avon has been manufacturing and selling for a few hundred years.

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Feb 10 2025
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Art and architecture, Daily Post, Interior

Admiring the “Siege of Troy”

Monday 10th February 2025, 2.50pm (day 4,918)

Siege of Troy, 10/2/25

It’s about time we had some more medieval manuscript and the Siege of Troy certainly gives magnificent illumination. This shot only hints at that excellence but I like the captured enthusiasm of the fellow students. I took plenty of photos of my own, don’t worry.

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Nov 05 2024
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Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger

Inspecting the manuscripts

Monday 4th November 2024, 2.00pm (day 4,820)

Rylands manuscripts, 4/11/24

Another one of my Palaeography classes in the John Rylands Library. We have moved from Hogwarts (the old reading room) upstairs and into the new seminar room, with tape still on the windows. Checking out the manuscripts themselves is always the best bit, and they need to be ready, and cared for — would that students got to sit on such comfortable-looking cushions.

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Oct 01 2024
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Daily Post, Interior

Lecture in Hogwarts

Monday 30th September 2024, 2.00pm (day 4,785)

Rylands lecture, 30/9/24

Another lecture, only this time I am facing front instead of at the front. For several Mondays over the next few months I will be a student again: the subject, you can see for yourself. ‘Hogwarts’ is, in fact, the Historic Reading Room of the John Rylands Library; a spectacular setting for a class, and somehow appropriate (though this was opened in 1901 and is detinitely not a medieval construction). But by next time I hope they’ve turned the heating on. Mr Rylands himself, or his statue, at least, pokes up behind the screen.

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Jan 03 2013
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Daily Post, Family Member, Interior, Portrait

‘A Clockwork Orange’ exhibition

Thursday 3rd January 2013, 3.05pm (day 497)

Clockwork Orange exhibition, 3/1/13

Skipped off work a bit early today and visited this exhibition which has is coming to the end of its run in the Deansgate library. It is the 50th anniversary of the book’s publication and also the 40th of the movie’s release. One of my favourite books and a very good film too. Joe is here a few minutes from discovering the giant white plastic phallus from the movie, the rear end of which is visible in the distance.

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Feb 14 2012
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Daily Post, Interior Gallery

Reading room, John Rylands Library

Tuesday 14th February 2012, 9.45am (day 173)

Reading room, 14/2/12

You nearly got something Valentines’-related… but I’ll spare everyone’s blushes. Here’s a library instead, in case you were thinking of getting too flustered about the (arbitrary) occasion. It’s got some nice lines in it. But then again so did the picture I nearly posted, only the lines were curvier.

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Feb 13 2012
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Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger Gallery

James, on video at Deansgate library

Monday 13th February 2012, 2.10pm (day 172)

James is an archivist at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, a historic public Victorian library in the city centre. I brought my Media & Information Literacy students here today for a ‘field trip’ and was also videoing it for the benefit of my distance learning students. Hence, being able to juggle two cameras simultaneously and get this pic using both, in effect. Who says men can’t multitask, eh?

(I’m back at the Deansgate library tomorrow morning to do some more filming, so no promises, but there may be more. If you’re interested, follow this link to their web site.)

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