Commercial Overprint Society of Great Britain
Vol. 4 No. 2; August 1, 2006
Rylands & Sons |
by Michael Behm |
Joseph Rylands was a manufacturer of woven cotton goods at the beginning of the 19th century. He and his wife, Elizabeth Pilkington, had three sons: Joseph, Richard, and John—the latter being born in 1801.
By 1819 the sons had a thriving business of their own; and that year their father joined them to found Rylands and Sons. This company hand-wove coarse and coloured linen and calico goods for the Chester area. Initially, John was the company's travelling salesman and marketer. However, he was so successful that in 1823 he opened a warehouse in New High Street, Manchester, for Rylands and Sons.
In moving to this new area, his timing was perfect: Manchester was growing rapidly.
In 1825 the firm purchased the Wigan estates to build the Wigan Linen Works.
In the 1830s the firm moved into cotton, began finishing and spinning yarn, started to buy and lease mills, and began selling the goods of others in Scotland and Ireland.
The Wigan land also had valuable coal seams, enabling the Rylands to become colliery masters in 1839.
In 1842 John took over complete control of the company. Over the next 30 years, the company continued to grow in Manchester and area, but also opened offices in major UK centers and internationally. With the death of his son in 1873, John incorporated Rylands and Sons Ltd. as a joint stock company—still with John in control. Until his death in 1888, and for a period afterwards, the firm continued to expand and be profitable.
After World War One, the company became less profitable as it failed to adapt quickly enough to changes in the economy. There was a brief resurgence in the 1940s, but in 1953 Rylands suffered a loss. That year the firm was taken over by Great Universal Stores Ltd. In 1971, active trading ceased.
The Overprints
There are many different Rylands overprints: varieties from Manchester, others from Liverpool, others with no city given, and for many of these, reversed versions as well. Even given the long period of use, the number of varieties is unexpected in comparison to the total number of overprints.
| Pattern | Issues | Pattern | Issues |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
revenue |  |
revenue |
 |
172 |  |
172 |
 |
219 |  |
219 |
 |
357 |  |
357, 370, 421 |
 |
421 |  |
421 |
 |
421 |  |
573 |