Join us at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library, on 10 November, from 2-4pm and 6-8pm, for a day of free activities in collaboration with Being Human Festival, the UK’s National Festival of the Humanities.

 2-4pm: Pressing ventures

Explore the archives and reconstruct the logic behind the key investment decisions which positioned Manchester as the world’s first industrial city. See our 19^th century Columbian Press spring into action, explore the risks taken by early printing innovators and take home a freshly printed copy of William Caxton’s printer’s device. This is a Being Human Café event.

• Free entry, no booking required.
• Click here to learn more.

 6-8pm: Risky Business; would you be swayed?

Visit our stunning Historic Reading Room after hours and join ‘Risky Business’, a game that blends storytelling and archive explorations. Examine a range of media sources, from historical newspapers and business accounts to 19^thcentury tech enthusiasts’ personal diaries, and develop your own fictional financial investment. To assist your investment choices, you will also have a chance to engage with a range of specialists including historians, economists, and curators.

• Book your free place here.

‘Pressing Ventures’ and ‘Risky Business’ are inspired by the research of Dr Edmond Smith, Historian of economic cultures, capitalism and globalisation at the University of Manchester and lead investigator in ‘Risky Business: Investing in Innovation and Britain’s Economic Development, 1600-1750’, a project supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The event will also draw on links to The Entrepreneurs Network (TEN), IPPR North, and Alliance Manchester Business School.