The John Rylands Library is part of the University of Manchester Library Service. It was founded by Enriqueta Rylands and contains some of the most significant printed books and manuscripts ever produced alongside collections of archives, art and visual culture. The collection of art and visual culture comprises: paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, textiles, ceramics, glass, manuscripts, prints, illustrated and painted books, and associated objects. The Library shows the links between visual and literary cultures. It has particular strengths in Western medieval manuscript and book production and European visual print culture from the fifteenth century to the present. This collection contains examples of the full repertoire of printing techniques. They relate to a spectrum of subjects and include works by Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach the elder, Andrea Mantegna, Hans Holbein the younger, Rembrandt van Rijn, William Hogarth, William Blake, and William Morris.

The Library also holds information about the history of analogue photography along with the photographic book. Our collection of portraits encompasses oil paintings, miniatures, drawings, sculptures, photographs, ceramics and bone. These depict individuals who are connected to the John Rylands Library, the University of Manchester, and those represented in the Library’s collections. The collection also has a strong collection of landscapes. Our collection encompasses urban as well as rural landscapes in the form of oil paintings, prints, photographs, plans and drawings. They include works by Joseph Mallord William Turner and Piranesi.