Framed sections of the Book of the Dead.
And the journey doesn’t stop here…
The newly conserved scroll is now in Austin, Texas for the exhibition Life and Literacy in Ancient Egypt @ransomcenter (11 April – 2 August 2026), with a version of the exhibition coming to the Rylands in autumn 2027.
Dr Marina Escolano-Poveda realigning fragments of an ancient papyrus.
Conservator framing an ancient papyrus.
Working with Egyptologist Dr Marina Escolano-Poveda, we carefully realigned displaced pieces and stabilised the fragile upper edge with a thin Japanese paper lining. Each section was mounted into frames designed to recreate the sense of a continuous scroll.
Conservator lining an ancient papyrus using a paste brush.
Conservator carefully repairing an ancient papyrus on a white table in a modern lab setting.
Our Collection Care team has been conserving a 2,300 year old Book of the Dead (Hieratic P 3), which measures over 8.5m — with generous support from The Idlewild Trust. The scroll was historically split into 10 sections and stuck to glass, with misplaced fragments and cracked glazing.
Large stylized ocean wave crashing with exhibition titled 'Beneath the Great Wave'.
Folded model of Mount Fuji with small human figured in the foreground.
If you’re visiting Whitworth Art Gallery to see 'Beneath the Great Wave' keep an eye out for items from our collection in the exhibition.
We love this 3D model of the map of Mount Fuji displayed alongside the original map.
Explore more of our our Japanese map collection: https://ow.ly/m4XP50YIaEh
Photograph of a dense crowd of men surrounded by police, amongst a backdrop of buildings. The crowd is facing away from the camera.
Join us at People's History Museum for an open day exploring the 1926 General Strike. Discover rare archive items from the time of this unprecedented act of unity.
📅Saturday 9 May, 10.30am – 4.15pm
£10/£8/FREE Book here: https://bit.ly/4m0aTjQ
Handwritten page at the beginning of a book. A commencing date of June 30th: 1813 and some page numbers are given.
In a new blog, Reader Services Assistant Bruce Wilkinson uses 18th- and 19th-century ledgers to trace the global connections of merchants from Blackburn. With the help of books and online resources, he has learned more than he was expecting.
First in a four-part series: https://ow.ly/zp2Z50YH5bT
Antique brass and ivory sphygmograph instrument with adjustable components and engraved markings on a gray background.
It’s #WorldHealthDay marking the founding of the World Health Organisation in 1948. Explore the Museum of Medicine and Health collections online at Manchester Digital Collections: https://ow.ly/muhw50YE5MH
A sphygmograph is a device that was used for making a short paper recording of the pulse.
Vintage labels for Turkish towels and bath blankets featuring designs like an octagon, pyramid and crown.
Thursday 9 April, join a Cottonopolis tour led by Professor Edmond Smith with researcher Dr Jo Tierney.
Drop into a Collections Encounter for collections exploring the relationship between trade and consumption.
👥Exhibition tour 1.30-2.00pm
📖Collection Encounter 2.30-4pm, Reading Room, level 2.
Black and white group photograph of women students at Owens College (a predecessor to the University of Manchester). UA/9/2/89
Have you seen our new showcase yet? You can find it in the foyer of the Main Library on Oxford Road, or have a look at our digital version: medium.com/@grant.collier/degrees-o...
📢 New post! UG student Alexander Martin explores the Lou Kushnick archive at AIU RACE Centre discussing Harold Washington, Chicago's first Black mayor. Link: https://ow.ly/6vEn50YxAZA
Decorated manuscript border with detail showing a rabbit sat on top of a musical instrument.
🐰Easter opening hours🥚
❌Closed Friday 2 April (Good Friday)
✅Open Saturday 4 April
❌Closed as usual on Sunday 5 April
📅Usual opening hours Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm
🐇Rabbit from 15th century Book of Hours (Latin MS 162)
Black and white abstract drawing of the Eiffel Tower made with intricate patterns and words on white paper.
In our latest blog, placement student Anastasia Eremeeva explores The Eiffel (Eyefull) Tower (1966) by dom sylvester houédard - a striking concrete poem created on a typewriter that blends visual form, wordplay and political critique.
Explore the blog here: https://ow.ly/mIYo50YxGS3
Handwritten page of text with two illustrations in blue boxes. A winged horse and a human figure on starry backgrounds.
Need a little #ManuscriptMonday in your life? Arabic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, Latin, Pali, Persian and Syriac?
We’ve got plenty of manuscripts available online: www.digitalcollections.manchester.ac.uk/collections/
⭐Constellation of Pegasus and Andromeda from Persian MS 3
Colour card with male and female bullfinch birds in profile.
In our latest blog, Julie Ramwell explores the history of collectable cigarette cards and how they evolved with changes in British culture.
Popular themes ranged from sports and celebrities to historical facts and imperial military campaigns.
Read the full blog here: ow.ly/p0Jn50Yv82H
Printed page with a grid of images showing two hands signing different letters of the alphabet.
It’s Sign Language Week.
This manual alphabet is from a deaf education book printed in 1809. Some of the letters are the same as the BSL alphabet today, do you recognise any?
The Deaf Education Collection contains over 11,000 items. Find out more information: https://ow.ly/uhk250Yqg8Q
Painting showing an elevated exterior view of The Portico Library.
Painting showing a classical style figure reading a book.
We’re a little late, but we heard that today’s #OnlineArtExchange is all about books...@artukdotorg.bsky.social
Here’s our library neighbour The Portico Library painted by Norman Benjamin.
Or an elegant reader painted by Albert Joseph Moore from Manchester Art Gallery’s collection.
Later at 3-4pm drop into a Collections Encounter to see material exploring cotton and morality.
Find Edmond and Haigh in the Reading Room on level 2. Free to attend, drop in activity.
See website for full details: events.manchester.ac.uk/event/event:...
Printed dial titled 'anti-slavery dial'.
Want to know more about Manchester's textile history and the moral implications of business practices of the era?
Free Cottonopolis tour led by exhibition curator Professor Edmond Smith with researcher Dr Haig Smith.
📆Thursday 19 March
1.30-2.00pm. Meet in the gallery on level 1.
Historic brick building on a quiet cobblestone street corner with multiple chimneys and windows. The Quay St Building, the original home of Owens College, University Photographic Collection.
Today marks the 175th anniversary of the opening of Owens College, a predecessor of the University of Manchester and an early model for the civic ‘Redbrick’ university.
🔍Explore the origins of Owens college through our lastest blog: https://ow.ly/4LZ050YqAB4
Why did clergymen marry? What did a wife offer them in serving their parishes? Why on earth would Charlotte Lucas marry Mr Collins? Answers to these questions, & much more, at this talk using the @thejohnrylands.bsky.social collections with curator Paul Carlyle. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/clerical-c...
Ever noticed a paper slip between the books?
This marks the position of a book that has been temporarily removed. The book might be in the research room being studied. Alternatively, curators, conservators or imaging staff might be working with the book.
Keep an eye out for one of these slips.
Black and white portrait of an elderly person wearing a fur-collared coat and a chain clasp, set in an oval frame. Portrait taken from her autobiography, Life of Frances Power Cobbe, 1894. Reference: R705.
Happy International Women’s Day! Today we celebrate Frances Power Cobbe (1822-1904) - writer, philosopher, suffrage campaigner and one of the first women in Britain to publish non-fiction.
Explore her story further through our latest blog:
https://ow.ly/cybI50YpaNv
Medal with green white and purple stripes. The medal is engraved 'hunger strike'.
Ahead of International Women’s Day, join curators to explore recent acquisitions relating to the Suffragettes. Highlights include Hunger Strike Medals awarded to sisters Margaret and Frances McPhun.
📅Thursday 5 March, 2-3.30pm. Find us in the reading room on level 2.
No need to book, just drop in.
Open botanical book showing detailed black and white plant illustrations with a hand holding a fold-out page. Foldout plate of Aloe Americana Polygona from Praeludia Botanica, (Caspar Commelin,1703);Dr Williams’s Library, 1012.M.14.
In our latest blog, placement student Verity Burton examines botany and empire in the Dutch Golden Age, reflecting on how botanical illustration, global trade and colonial extraction were deeply intertwined.
Read the full blog here: https://ow.ly/5fz350Yl2vi
Page of manuscript with decorated border.
Love new month on the calendar? This is March from a 13th century calendar. The page shows the occupation for the month which is pruning. You can also see the zodiacal sign, Aries.
Browse this full manuscript online here: www.digitalcollections.manchester.ac.uk/view/MS-LATIN-00117/1
Colophon of the scribe on the last page of the manuscript; Arabic MS 97, folio 50b.
From a 13th-century Christian calendar to a debate between a coffee drinker and a smoker, our latest blog explores more highlights from the Rylands’ newly digitised Arabic manuscripts collection.
Discover poetry, calligraphy and more via Manchester Digital Collections:
https://ow.ly/EvIM50Yi2bE
Ticket with writing reading 'The John Rylands Library Reader's Complimentary Ticket'.
Imagine being a life member of The John Rylands Library…
This un-used reader’s ticket gives a glimpse into the 126 years that the Rylands has welcomed readers.
To become a reader today you apply online: https://ow.ly/pVfG50YkkSv
Unfortunately you don’t get a fancy reader’s ticket like this one.
Papyrus amulet with an illustration of a crocodile.
Papyrus fragment of the Gospel of John.
We're excited to be collaborating with the Harry Ransom Center on their next exhibition Lives and Literacy in Ancient Egypt.
The exhibition brings to life the voices of Greco-Roman Egyptians through rare papyrus manuscripts rarely seen by the public. Opening 11 April in Austin, Texas.
