John Rylands Library

The John Rylands Library is a Victorian Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. The library, which opened to the public in 1900, was founded by Mrs Enriqueta Augustina Rylands in memory of her late husband, John Rylands. The John Rylands Library and the library of the University of Manchester merged in July 1972 and and were renamed the John Rylands University Library of Manchester. Special collections built up by both libraries were progressively concentrated in the Deansgate building. The special collections, believed to be among the largest in the United Kingdom, include medieval illuminated manuscripts and examples of the earliest forms of European printing, including the Gutenberg Bible. The Rylands Library Papyrus P52...