The John Rylands Research Institute - The University of Manchester

Our collections and research projects

Heinrich Simon's hand-drawn map of the area around Malchow in Brandenburg (September 1828 diary extract).

Heinrich Simon: Prussian Double Agent

The only leader of the German 1848 Revolution as yet largely unresearched has a particular German-Mancunian linkage.

Flap anatomy of a pregnant figure from G. Spratt, Obstetric Tables, 1835

The visual culture of midwifery training in early nineteenth-century Manchester

This project seeks to explore how the pregnant body was thought about, pictured, represented and practiced upon in early nineteenth-century Manchester.

Jewish Collections

Exploring Jewish history and culture in our Hebrew collections.

Letter written by James Fortescue to James Caldwell

Lives and afterlives of letters

This research centres on the study of correspondence.

Medieval and Early Modern
Collections

Investigating the wealth of Medieval and Early Modern materials.

Modern Literary Archives

Outstanding resources for the study of recent and contemporary literature.

Detail from: William Blake, The Angels Appearing to the Shepherds (1809). The Whitworth, University of Manchester

Visionary Artists, Visionary Objects

Centring on the work of visionary artists, and on the nature of visionary art.

Text from the front cover of 'Poetry World No. 2' mentioning work from Stanislaw Baranczak

In Their Own Words

Poetry in translation in the UK after 1962.

Papyrus Collections

Greek and Latin papyri offer new insights into the Ancient World.

Turkish Collections

Ottoman manuscripts and printed books reveal links between East and West.

Medical Collections

Manuscripts by Manchester's leading doctors of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Bible Collections

Bibles in more than 400 languages and dialects from almost five centuries.

Good grief

Historical perspectives on the regulation of mourning.

Second city

Manchester and modern finance.

The Dave Cunliffe Archive and the counterculture

The cultural impact of Poetmeat, Global Tapestry and the BB Books Small Press.

Networking John Ruskin

Victorian culture and social life in the John Ryland’s Library.

Mapping spaces of medical exchange across Manchester, 1793 – 1893

This project looks at the intersecting forms of human thought, feeling and action that make and are made by historical spaces.

Title page from Tutte l’opere di M. Giulio Camillo Delminino

Giulio Camillo 2.0

This project uses a manuscript from the John Rylands Library’s Christie Collection to digitally recreate a 3D model of a 16th century theatre.

Nushirwan and the Indian envoy’, Persian MS 932 (1542 CE)

Economic behaviours in the Persian manuscripts

This project uses a manuscript from the John Rylands Library’s Christie Collection to digitally recreate a 3D model of a 16th century theatre.

Joseph van Aken, 'Saying Grace' (c. 1720),

Faith in the Town

Lay Religion, Urbanisation and Industrialisation in England, 1740-1830

Get involved

student investigating material — Funding opportunities

Our grants help researchers build projects related to the University’s Special Collections.

Old manuscript illustration of children working — Support us

Philanthropic support makes a real difference to what we can achieve.

Jeanette Winterson speaking at a seminar at The University of Manchester — Events

We host a number of research events throughout the year, including conferences and lectures.

About the John Rylands Research Institute

Spencer room at John Rylands Library — Our collections

Our collections contain some of the most significant printed books and manuscripts ever produced.

Staff and students in the John Rylands Research Institute — Our people

More about the researchers and support staff who make up the Institute.

Envelope of letter to Moses Gaster — Our blog

Read about our current research activities and funding opportunities.