About the Loan
The loan of the Gutenberg Bible comes at a
time of historical commemoration and strengthening bonds between the
universities of Melbourne and Manchester. The copy of the Gutenberg Bible held
by The John Rylands Library at The University of Manchester was once part of
the book collection of George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer, who commissioned
Matthew Flinders to circumnavigate and fully map the Australian continent. [READ
MORE] 2014 marks the bicentennial of the publication of the account of this
voyage with its famous map (proposing ‘Australia’ as the name of the continent)
in 1814, the same year Lord Spencer’s library, including his Gutenberg Bible,
was first described in a catalogue of his collection. In addition, in March of
this year, the Vice Chancellors of The University of Melbourne
and The University of Manchester, Glyn Davis and Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell,
announced The Universities of Manchester and Melbourne Mobility Fund aimed at strengthening professional and
academic staff engagement between the two institutions. Also, within the last
few years, Manchester opened the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons in honour of the
late Alan David Gilbert (1944–2010), who served as VC for both universities.