Where it all started

Have you ever discovered an Illustration or image in a book that sparked your imagination or felt instantly special to you?

The Folio Collector was created in response to that sense of wonderment, something we see in our visitors’ faces when they find a hand-coloured map, intricate lithograph, drawing or sketch in our 19th-century collection. We wanted to capture that experience by inviting six Mancunians to select illustrations from our books that connected or inspired them and to share them with you as a series of limited-edition, affordable, and plastic free prints.  

In 2022, the Portico Library received funding support from Social Enterprise Academy and the National Lottery Heritage Fund to make this idea come true. The themes we have highlighted this year are:

  • Manchester, our city

  • Bees and Flowers

  • Maps of the World

  • Egypt

  • Voyage and Travel

Meet the Collaborators

Testament Homecut, Hip-Hop MC and theatre maker - Manchester, our city

Chris and Natasha of Manchester & Districts Beekeepers’ Association - Bees and Flowers

John Consterdine, Manchester Taxi Tours - Maps of the World

Dr Campbell Price, Curator of Egypt and Sudan at Manchester Museum - Egypt

Dr Uma Kothari and Tanja Muller Co-Founders of Migration Lab,

University of Manchester’s Global Development Institute - Voyage and Travel

Paper quality and packaging

We use Perlino Cotton paper that is either 100% or part recycled. Perlino is an FSC® certified board made up of 65% virgin fibres, 25% recycled material and 10% cotton fibre. It gives full-colour printing quality with great surface texture. We send every print in plastic free packaging.

Special Thanks

We would like to say thank you to our Portico Library volunteers and supporters of this project. Without their help this project would not be successful. We greatly appreciate their invaluable contributions.

Josh McWalters, Heather Allso, Evelyn Ashmore, James Brown, Pam Galloway, Isobel Moody, Katie Ann Gunn and all our volunteers who helped discover the many gems in our books.

Finally, thank you to the Steps to Sustainability participant group and Kate Harcus for your support and kindness.