WEBSITE: Manutius in Manchester.
The John Rylands Library in Manchester holds one of the largest collections of Aldine editions in the world. A project is nearly complete to recatalogue the collection, including details specific to particular copies such as individual bindings and previous owners. The core of this collection comes from George John 2nd Earl Spencer (1758-1834), who amassed a huge private collection of early printed books which was then purchased by Mrs Rylands from the 5th Earl in 1892. Spencer’s Aldine collection was housed separately at Spencer House in London, along with his outstanding collection of incunabula.
More books were added when the John Rylands Library merged with the University of Manchester Library in 1972. Professor Richard Copley Christie had presented his collection to the University in 1901. It includes an unrivaled set of virtually all the Greek texts published in the 15th and 16th centuries, together with a very substantial collection of Aldines. Christie also acquired over fifty counterfeit Aldines printed at Lyon between 1502 and 1527, some of which are rarer than genuine editions.
The Library will be hosting an exhibition – Merchants of Print: From Venice to Manchester, from February to June 2015 to celebrate the life and work of Aldus Manutius and five hundred years of collecting his books. We are also very excited to be a part of the ‘Books and Beasts’ project which will take material bibliography in an exciting new and profound direction – into the identification of the variety of animal skins used in the production of medieval and Renaissance books, not only in their bindings, but also in their text blocks.
Our intention is to highlight special and interesting copies in our collections as well as provide updates and information on the exhibition and our Venetian Vellum project.