University of Reading Special Collections

Good question!

We answer that (and more) in this blogpost:

collections.reading.ac.uk/special-coll...

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wake up babe
new generational James Joyce exhibition just dropped

Visit Us - The Museum of English Rural Life Find out everything you need to know about planning a visit to The MERL galleries, shop, café, garden, or reading room.

Visit the exhibition any time during @themerl.bsky.social's regular opening hours.

Plan your visit via The MERL's website today!

merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/

Find out more about James Joyce: Enigmas & Puzzles in the latest @uniofreading.bsky.social blogpost:

www.reading.ac.uk/news/2025/Un...

James Joyce: Enigmas and Puzzles. 7 October - 9 February 2026. Uni of Reading Special Collections.

🥳 Now open 🎉

Discover rarely-seen letters and artefacts from the personal archive of beloved author James Joyce in James Joyce: Enigmas & Puzzles.

Explore Joyce's social network of friends and artists, his family life, his inspirations, and the adjustments he made to work despite ill-health.

James Joyce: Enigmas and Puzzles. 7 October - 9 February 2026. University of Reading Special Collections, at The Museum of English Rural Life.

We also look after the personal archive of Beckett’s close friend, James Joyce.

Never-before-seen papers from this remarkable collection will appear soon in our upcoming free exhibition, James Joyce: Enigmas and Puzzles. Opens 7 Oct.

collections.reading.ac.uk/special-coll...

We're looking forward to sharing more information about this amazing visit very soon.

In the meantime, you can learn all about the contents and breadth of the Samuel Beckett Collection kept here at the @uniofreading.bsky.social on our website:

collections.reading.ac.uk/special-coll...

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter Are Ready for ‘Godot’

We hold the world's largest Samuel Beckett Collection, and frequently welcome researchers, actors and dramatists.

In April, this included the cast of the upcoming Jamie Lloyd Co production of Waiting for Godot – including actors Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter!

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/t...

Illustrated book cover of ‘The scarlet tree’ with the figure of a man, his heart and venous system drawn in red.

Illustrated book cover of ‘Great morning’ with the title in a gilt sun, and two statuesque figures

Illustrated book cover of ‘Noble essences’, with statuesque figures lining a room with a glass domed roof showing the night sky.

Some of our books have detailed illustrated covers, like these three volumes on the life of Osbert Sitwell. Part of a collection of five autobiographical books, these were published between 1940 and 1950.
[Finzi 23C/14,15,17]

Book held open to an illustration of a phoenix. The owners inscription reads: The bird of paradise, the dead one I have seen

Book held open to an illustration of a phoenix. The owners inscription reads: A phoenix as vulgarly painted

A book held in hand, bound in vellum

Convinced they had seen a real phoenix, the owner of this 16th century book was not impressed by its illustrations. Belon’s 1557 ‘Vrais portraits d’oyseaux’ was used as a checklist for an avid birdwatcher and is full of their annotations. We wonder what the phoenix they saw was…?
[Cole 136/5]

Book held in hand with ornate 3D cover and shield over a red background

One of the pages of miniatures, with a scene of a battle on ships. The border is decorated with leaves and has the figures of two men and a lion.

This dramatic cover is heavy enough to be wooden, but it’s actually made of papier-mâché!
Henry Humphreys’ ‘A record of the black prince’ was published in 1849 and is full of detailed miniatures.
[Longman 053]

Have a peek at more of these treasures in our online exhibition:
collections.reading.ac.uk/special-coll...

An illuminated manuscript page, with decorative lettering, flora and fauna. Includes a miniature of a man at a feasting table, and a boy pouring a jug, representing Aquarius.

A leaf of a manuscript with colourful and gilt decorative lettering. Includes an intricate border, with a large bird

A gilt miniature of a monk inside decorative lettering on a leaf of manuscript.

Some of our manuscripts have tiny figures on them, a few no larger than a thumbnail! These pages range from 400 to 900 years old, and are gilt in gold.
[MS 5650]

Interested in rare books collections and all things library? We’re looking for a Graduate Trainee Library Assistant to join our team!
Find out more here:

jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

YouTube video by University of Reading Three Minute Thesis Competition Winner 2025 Sorry not sorry: The invisible women behind Mills & Boon

Mills & Boon have been publishing romantic novels since 1908, but who were the often hidden authors? In her prize-winning 3 minute talk from #UoRPhDConf, Vic Pickup reveals insights from her PhD research drawing on letters from @uorspeccoll.bsky.social youtu.be/qzFDFZqTLNE?... #MillsandBoon #PhD

Take a look at our exhibition here: collections.reading.ac.uk/special-coll...

The title page of the magazine ‘The Omnibus’, with illustrations of flowers

What would social media look like in the Victorian period? Our newest online exhibition curated by PhD student Amy Longmuir explores ‘The Omnibus’, a magazine created at the turn of the century, which gives us an insight into Victorian life.

Book held in hand showing a detailed illustration of a nautilus.

Book held showing a detailed illustration coloured in by hand

The spine of the book, with gilt detailing.

Some of the books in our collection have had their illustrations coloured in by hand, like this 1553 volume ‘De Aquatilibus’ by Pierre Belon, full of drawings of sea creatures.
[Cole 136/04]

A book held open at a page with a colourful illustration of a jar

A page showing a colourful illustration of a jar, with a flap for its lid hiding the phrase ‘good humour’.

The title page of the book, held open in hand

This curious book ‘The Toilet’ was published in 1867, and only has illustrations with small lines of text. Despite its name, this book does not actually contain toilets, instead each picture has a flap hiding a ‘virtue’.
[Reserve 170.84 MUR]

Here is a reminder of our first exhibition on Joyce’s love of language: collections.reading.ac.uk/special-coll...

We are celebrating the opening of Joyce’s personal archive next year, and displaying items which reveal more about the author behind the puzzles of Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. The exhibition is in the Museum of English Rural life staircase hall from 7 Oct 2025 - 9 Feb 2026. More details to follow!

An image of a pen laid flat, with a tiny inscribed gold book attached

Happy Bloomsday to all! We are pleased to announce a new exhibition from the Solange and Stephen James Joyce Collection, James Joyce: Enigmas and Puzzles.

A leather bound book held in hand

The back cover of a book held in hand, with a doodled cow and rider

Some of our material has hidden additions, like this unassuming 1697 copy ‘Of wisdom’ by Pierre Charron. On the back cover, someone has doodled a person riding a bull or cow, also dated 1698!
[Reserve 170 CHA]

Handwritten notebook held in hand, with a loose list inside.

A handwritten diary list as part of the notebook

Another page of the handwritten notebook held in hand

Recently found in our archive, this travel journal recounts trips to Geneva, Chamonix and Rome. Written between 1846 and 1853 by Miss Fuller, this book has everything from stories of her holidays, to dancing lessons and comments on the weather.
[MS 1652]

We hold one of the largest collections of bee related material in the UK, including the Cowan Bee Collection at @themerl.bsky.social! You can find out more at: collections.reading.ac.uk/special-coll...

An open book held in hand, showing musical notation of the sound of bees.

An open book held in hand, showing a recipe for marmalade

‘The feminine monarchie…’ by Charles Butler revolutionised beekeeping in 1609 by confirming the queen bee existed. It also includes musical notation of bee’s drones, recipes for marmalade, and descriptions of bees building little wax chapels in their hives!
[Bee Coll. Cotton 01]

A notebook and handwritten recipe for marmalade, held in hand

Our archives hold large collections as well as material that tells the stories of individuals. These recipes were found in a notebook filled with deeply personal stories from the author, and connect us to the history of the items we store.
[MS 1653]

Image of publications by Barbara Jones - 'Design for Death' (PRINTING COLLECTION--393-JON) and 'Black Eyes and Lemonade' exhibition catalogue (GREAT EXHIBITION--12/06)

It's your last chance to see the Charles Hasler exhibition in the staircase hall as it closes on 30 May:

tinyurl.com/bd2nppsv

And look out for our latest blog post on three innovative mid-century women artists featured in the exhibition!

tinyurl.com/3zx4trmw

Book held in hand, with a detailed illustrated cover of a large sailing ship

Spine of the book, also with illustration of sailing ship

One of the illustrations inside the book, showing a building on fire

We hold thousands of children’s books in our collection, including this edition of ‘Fighting the flames’ by R.M. Ballantyne. This copy was printed at the start of the 20th century, and has detailed illustrations.
[CC 823.8 BAL]

Book held in hand, with a lion wearing glasses on the cover.

Spine of the book held in hand, with a brown, green and red cover.

Title page of the book with illustrations of the tin man and scarecrow.

When ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ by L. Frank Baum was first published, it contained spelling mistakes that had to be quickly amended in a new printing. This is one of our first editions, printed in 1900, with the mistakes corrected.

[Wizard of Oz Collection 001]