Manchester Engels while living and working in Manchester. Manchester was the meeting place of Engels and Karl Marx. The two began writing "The Communist Manifesto" in Chetham's Library. The library was founded in 1653 and lays claim to being the oldest public library in the English-speaking world. Elsewhere in the city, the John Rylands Library holds an extensive collection of early printing. The Rylands Library Papyrus P52, believed to be the earliest extant New Testament text, is on permanent display in the library. Charles Dickens is reputed to have set his novel "Hard Times" in the city, and while it is
Papyrus Rylands 463 the material contained in 7.4-19.5 of the Coptic manuscript. The reconstruction of the missing parts (especially the starts and ends of the lines) is not an easy task and depends on the Coptic text. The Greek text can only be conjectured on the basis of the Coptic version. The manuscript is fragmentary but shows two errors. There are some differences between the Greek fragment and the Coptic text. The nomina sacra are written in abbreviated form. The text was edited by C. H. Roberts in 1938. The manuscript currently is housed at the John Rylands Library (Gr. P. 463) at