About Us

Science and Society Picture Library

Science & Society Picture Library (SSPL) represents the collections of the Science Museum Group of museums, which comprises the Science Museum, the National Railway Museum, the National Science and Media Museum and Museum of Science & Industry. SSPL also represents a number of other related image collections from outside of the museums, many of which are available for purchase as prints online.


Science Museum

The Science Museum houses the world's largest scientific collection, and contains some of the most significant objects in the history of science, industry, technology and transport.


National Railway Museum

The National Railway Museum is the largest railway museum in the world. The museum's extensive archive of railway images comprises 1.4 million photographs, posters, paintings and prints dating from the earliest days of rail travel to the present day.


National Science and Media Museum

The National Science and Media Museum looks after one of the world's most significant collections of historical photographs. The museum's collections contain works by many of the most celebrated names in photographic history, including Julia Margaret Cameron, Roger Fenton, William Henry Fox Talbot, Lewis Carroll and many more.


Museum of Science and Industry

The Museum of Science & Industry tells the story of where science met industry and the modern world began.

Manchester was one of the first global, industrial cities, and its epic rise, decline and resurrection has been echoed in countless other cities around the world. From textiles to computers and light bulbs to locomotives, the objects and images held in MOSI’s collection tell stories of everyday life over the last 200 years.