Ruth Abbott and Ephraim Levinson warmly invite you to an exhibition, presentation, and celebration of their long-running research project (2020-2026) on the multidisciplinary manuscripts of Thomas Gray.

Friday 22nd May 2026
4:30—7:30pm Nihon Room, Pembroke College, Cambridge

An exhibition of Thomas Gray collection materials curated by Genny Grim and Lizzy Ennion-Smith (Pembroke College Library and Archives) will be on display before and after the seminar.

5pm Nihon Room, Pembroke College, Cambridge (in person or Teams)
https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/9c1a07cc-c65b-4a7e-b1cb-178415d2ecb6@49a50445-bdfa-4b79-ade3-547b4f3986e9

Ruth Abbott (Cambridge) and Ephraim Levinson (Bristol) will present what they’ve discovered through their Gray project and explore Gray’s significance as a case study in eighteenth-century manuscript culture, antiquarianism, polymathy, the history of scholarship, and the organisation of knowledge in manuscript and print. They’ll also reflect on how the project took shape through several methods of research, collaboration, and publication, and what they learned by working both individually and collaboratively, and across digital, academic, and private press publication formats. There will then be a seminar discussion with time for questions. Anyone interested is invited to explore the digital collection in advance: https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/thomasgray.

6pm Thomas Gray Room, Pembroke College, Cambridge

After the seminar, you are invited to continue the discussion informally over a wine reception.

All welcome!

https://www.english.cam.ac.uk/news/archives/10519