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Riddy Collection

The Riddy Collection consists of approximately 1550 books, collected by John Riddy.

The collection was amassed by as a private library with much of its focus on the history on British India, most notably politics and government of the 18th- and 19th-centuries. 

How to access the collection
The majority of the collection is borrowable and can be found in the Morrell Library. A small collection of books are in the Rare Books Collection and may be consulted at the Borthwick Institute for Archives.

About the collection

The collector

John Riddy was both a lecturer and avid book collector with a notable career working in universities. After his retirement in York, John's interest in book collecting flourished further. When from time to time he decided to prune his library he gave substantial parts of it to the University library. Although John never published a book on British India he did give lectures and wrote articles that illuminated various aspects of Indian history - mostly to do with the 1857 mutiny and its aftermath.

Acquisition

In 2007 John Riddy deposited the collection to the University of York.

Related collections

The Riddy deposit overlaps with the Attlee collection, with many works relating to the independence of India and Pakistan.