Adopt a book

Many of the books in the Portico Library's 19th-century collection are in urgent need of repair or rebinding. It is vital that these items are preserved for future generations to learn from and enjoy. You can help us preserve the Library’s historic collection by donating to our adopt-a-book fund, or choosing an individual book to adopt. Below are some of our books that are in need of adoption.

Shirley by Charlotte Bronte

Shirley were on display in Bookends and Beginnings: Stories from our collections by our volunteers exhibition at the Portico Library.

The Library’s copy of Shirley by Charlotte Bronte is in need of urgent repair. This first edition of Shirley is not just an example of the ‘state of England’ novel, it has deep connections with the Portico Library’s own history and links to Charlotte Brontë through her friendship with Elizabeth Gaskell.

 Shirley can be described as a proto-feminist novel and it is named after the dynamic leading heroine. Brontë shines a light on the misogyny encountered by women throughout the novel as well as recording the impact on an area of West Yorkshire of the rapid social change caused by the Industrial Revolution.

This book has Charlotte Brontë’s pseudonym Currer Bell on the title page. She used this name as she ‘did not want to declare herself as a woman’; she had previously been dismissed by the poet Robert Southey and told to return to her ‘proper duties’ as a woman.

Estimated cost of repair: £1,700

Travels through Norway and Lapland, 1813

by Leopold Von Buch, John Black and Robert Jameson

Leopold von Buch was a palaeontologist and geologist, who studied with Alexander von Humboldt. This book details his expedition through the northernmost parts of Scandinavia, focusing on how the climate influenced the land.

Some of the illustrations from this book have been used for the Portico’s 2023 Christmas card collection; available from the Portico shop in early November!

Estimated cost of repair: £132

Currently on display in Bookends and Beginnings: Stories from our collection by our volunteers exhibition until 25 January 2024.

History of the Cotton Manufacture in Great Britain, 1835

by Edward Baine

This is a first edition of this book. Baines was the Liberal MP for Leeds from 1859-1874 and helped found the Leeds Literary and Philosophical Society.

Baines was an eyewitness to the Peterloo massacre which took place just down the road from the Portico. He wrote an article about the events for The Leeds Mercury. Cotton manufacturing is closely linked to Manchester’s history, and this book would have been of interest to a great many of our members, who had business interests in the cotton industry.

Currently on display in Bookends and Beginnings: Stories from our collection by our volunteers exhibition until 25 January 2024.

Child Life in Japan, 1888

Matilda Chaplin Ayrton

Ayrton was one of the Edinburgh Seven, a group of women who were the first to matriculate at a British university. Aryton studied medicine, but faced hostility from the University and her male classmates. She was barred from fully completing her education in Britain. She finished her degree in Paris, before gaining a certificate in Midwifery in England. She then went with her husband to Tokyo. During her time in Tokyo, Aryton became interested in Japanese culture and customs which resulted in this book. She also opened a school for Japanese midwives. One of the illustrations from this book has been used for our card, Snowballing, available in the Portico shop.

Estimated cost of repair: £120

Currently on display in Bookends and Beginnings: Stories from our collection by our volunteers exhibition until 25 January 2024.