This exhibition was curated by Apapat Jai-in Glynn with the support from Dr Debbie Challis and Ellie Holly.

Thanks to all the Portico Library’s staff and volunteers and to our partners.

In this exhibition

There is a wide range of historic books on show with views and suggestions from more than twenty volunteers. There will also be a Reading Area where everyone can read a selection of nineteenth-century books in a dedicated space. At the centre of the exhibition, is a colourful illustration centrepiece reproduced from images and titles in the Library collection. There will also be an area to learn about the Library’s mission to restore and conserve historic books and how people can take part in this process.

The Books

Each volunteer was tasked with exploring one book each from every category we offer in the Portico’s collection. You will see a versatile range of rare books, such as a first edition of Shirley (Charlotte Brontë) on display, alongside books from twenty different categories; Curious myths of the Middle Ages from Mythology; Woodland, Moor and Stream from Natural History; The Laws of Harmonious Colouring in Fine Arts; Queer Things about Japan from Voyages and Travel; Contributions to Solar Physics in Science; ‘The Stranger’s Book’ from the Portico Archive and many more.

Friday 13th October 2023 to Thursday 25th January 2024

Preview, everyone welcome: 12th October 5 pm - 7pm

Free entry

Bookends and Beginnings:

Stories from our collections by our volunteers

There are over twenty categories of books inside the Portico Library’s nineteenth-century collection. Some are stored on the highest shelf, four metres above the ground. The titles that are visible on the spines invite you to open them and to read what people read 200 years ago… They include intriguing titles like Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling or curious ones such as Things not generally known. 

Our volunteers help us take care of our historic books and introduce them to our visitors. We cannot look after this collection without the support of our volunteers. Our volunteers are the people closest to our books. Some of them know a shelf so well it is like the back of their hand.

Many of our volunteers are students in arts, literature, conservation, and library management. We also have people who work in different fields, whose everyday roles are a contrast to their passion for books, reading and history. We want to celebrate the support from our volunteers and introduce their knowledge about our books as both a thank you and a way into understanding our collection.

This exhibition gathers together stories written, interpreted, and shared by our volunteers about what captivates them in the collection. From barely touched books at the top of the shelf to the irreplaceable Portico Archive, a wide range of interests are shared and explained in this display.

Read, feel, and see. We invite everyone to explore these stories and join our volunteers as they share their passion for the books inside these historic walls.

Our volunteers on duty. Shahireh and Jim were sewing a book back together.

Our volunteers

Thanks to all our volunteers, trustees and collaborators who have taken part in this exhibition:

Catherine Fraser, James Brown, Katie Gunn, Shahireh Sharif, Heather Allso, Tia Blythe, Pam Galloway, Isobel Moody, Karen Chancellor, Esther Gomez-Sierra, Dorothea Tite-Ahearn, Felicity Coan, Sade Omeje, Isabel Lawler, Anna Vine, Amy Etherington, Jim Duff, Tim Higson, Louise Hyland, Carol-Ann Whitehead and Abbi Parcell.

If you are interested to volunteer at the Portico please visit our volunteer page

Associated Events

A series of events will delve into the Portico collection and spark conversations.

All events can be found at www.theportico.org.uk/whats-on and across our social media platforms:

Instagram: @porticolibrary

Twitter: @theportico

Facebook: facebook.com/ThePorticoLibrary