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Click here to subscribeWith Hand-Coloured MapsScale (Bernard) An Hibernian Atlas: or General Description of the Kingdom of Ireland. 4to L. 1776. First Edn., engd. title, dedit & index, hd. cold. map of Ireland & 36 full page maps of Provinces & Counties (37 maps in all), cont. hf. calf, worn (needs rebinding), mor. label. A very clean copy. (1)
Exceptionally Rare First PublicationGregory (Augusta Lady). Over the River An appeal for aid to a poor parish in South London]. L., Ridgeway 1887, 16mo limp olive cloth, a.e.r., a fine copy. Preface by [Lady Gregory's husband] W.H. Gregory. Annotated by Lady Gregory, with a note quoting the Bishop of Rochester at rear of p. 31. Her first publication, exceptionally scarce, written the year before she met W.B. Yeats in London, and became active with him in Irish cultural affairs. (1)Provenance: From the collection of Mrs. Catherine Kennedy, 'Nu' the grand-daughter of Lady Gregory. Her father Robert, was the subject of W.B. Yeats's poem, "An Irish Airman Forsees His Death."
Signed Presentation CopiesHewitt (John) Tesserae, Festival Publications, Queen's University Belfast 1967. First Edn., orig. ptd. green wrappers. Signed Presentation Copy, 'For Jim & Sophie from John Hewitt April '67,'; also The Day of the Corncrake: Poems of The Nine Glens. Sm. 4to Belfast (Glens of Antrim Historical Society) 1969. First Edn. in bl. form, wrappers; An Ulster Reckoning, tall 8vo Coventry 1971. First Edn., verso of front cover inscribed 'Sophie & Jim from John with affectionate regards 17.iv.71' orig. ptd. wrappers. V. Scarce, Programme for Conferring of Freedom of the City of Belfast on Dr. John Hewitt, May 1983; The Planter & the Gael, Poems of John Hewitt and John Montague, 4to Belfast 1970, illus. pict. wrappers; & 1 other item. Good. (6)
[Yeats (W.B.)] Scott-James (R.A.)ed. The London Mercury and Bookman, Issues Nos. 207 & 233, Jan. 1937 & March 1939, each including Poems by Yeats. No. 207 - The Three Bushes, and No. 233, - Four Recent Poems, with a photo of Yeats, orig. ptd. wrappers; The Dublin Magazine, Vol. 26, No. 2 - April - June 1951, with Diarmuid and Grania, A Play in Three Acts, by George Moore and W.B. Yeats. Now First Printed, With an introductory note by Wm. Becker. 4to D. 1951, 41pp wrappers. Scarce. (3)
A Wicklow Emigrant's PoemsManuscript: A single sheet of good quality Notepaper, watermarked Ancient Irish Vellum, bearing two manuscript poems, unsigned, probably original, the first commencing 'In London here the streets are grey, & grey the skies above / I wish I were in Ireland to see the skies I love ..', and continuing '.. I dream I see the Wicklow hills by evening sunlight kissed / An' every glen & valley there brimful of radiant mist ..'. The second poem, overleaf, describes a windy morning in Co. Wicklow, commencing 'Last night the air was cold & still / No breeze was moving in Gleanndubh ..' As a m/ss., w.a.f. (1)The verse is competent, in a ballad style, and evidently written from personal experience; -hopefully someone may recognise the handwriting.
Stephens (James) A short ALs. to Patrick Maloney, from his London address, 25 July 1935, 1 pp, with related envelope, responding to a letter. 'I first met AE in 1909. I am very careless about dates. Also the article on him was asked for at very short notice, one day in fact, and I had no time to be careful.' With a good signature, 'James Stephens'. As a m/ss., w.a.f. (1)
Edwards (Hilton) Director. A good TLs. on Gate Theatre notepaper dated 24 September 1951, 1 pp, to Donagh [MacDonagh], concerning his play God's Gentry. 'First of all I think the play is delightful. I believe you are re writing the last act ..', and in view of this he offers some thoughts about how this might be done. 'Incidentally, you are the only writer I have met in Ireland who can write love scenes .. I would not find the play easy to cast, but I am very interested in doing it, particularly if the English and American rights were available for a period.' Minor tears at folds, no loss. As a m/ss, w.a.f. (1)
Clarke ( Austin) Poet. Two TLs. to the writer Donagh MacDonagh, from Bridge House in Templeogue, the first [3 April 1940] referring to a poem which MacDonagh apparently submitted pseudonymously for a competition. 'I find that I put the poem aside for a prize but decided at the last moment that it might be too realistic for the villages. I suspected a pseudonym but, quite frankly, did not guess the authorship.'The second letter [6 April] refers to another poem, which he interprets as 'a commentary on a well known theme . Taking it that way, I think it excellent and enjoyed its subtlety of thought.' Both with good signatures, Austin Clarke. (2)The competition may have been related to the Dublin Verse-Speaking Society, in which Clarke was active.
[Barton (Robert) Treaty signatory] A copy of Douglas Hyde [An Craoibhín]'s play Casadh An tSúgáin, with a parallel translation by Lady Gregory, An Cló-Chumann, Dublin n.d. [1905], orig. wrappers, stapled, inscribed on front cover '1541 R. Barton', further inscribed on f.f.e.p., 'Riobard Bartún / & é i bpríosún i Sacsana / ón gCraoibhín'. (1)Robert Barton, a cousin of Erskine Childers, from a landed background in Wicklow, joined the British Army as an officer during the Great War, but resigned after he was posted to Dublin during the 1916 Rising. He joined the Irish Volunteers and was elected to the First Dail, where he was Minister for Agriculture. He was several times imprisoned for Republican activities, including the occasion recorded in this booklet. He was released from Portland Prison during the Truce, and was a member of the team that negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Though he signed the Treaty and voted for it in the Dail, he took the anti-Treaty side afterwards. After the fighting ended he retired from politics and returned to farming. He was later head of the Agricultural Credit Corporation under Fianna Fail.A rare and evocative item, illustrating the complexity of the Anglo-Irish struggle.
De Blacam (Aodh) ('Roddy The Rover') Two ALs. to a Dr. Kennedy, 18.iii.42 and 24.1.49, one with a note to Miss Kennedy (presumably his daughter), 5 pp in all, discussing various topics including landlord autocracy, emigration figures, and world affairs. 'What strange times we live in, of persecution like that of the ancient days! Will the Church go back to the Catacombs, while the new Neros have their day? It has fallen to the Republic of Ireland to be the first State to protest against the Hungarian terror ..' [24.1.49].* With a few other items and a related envelope. Aodh de Blacam, the novelist, wrote a young people's column for the Irish Press under the nom-de-plume 'Roddy The Rover'. As a collection, w.a.f. (1)
Political Pamphlet: Co. Antrim: [Hughes (J.)?] A Collection of All The Authenticated Public Addresses, Resolutions, and Advertisements .. .Election of Knights of the Shire for the County of Antrim..., 8vo Belfast (John Hughes) 1790, First Edn., t.p., supplementary pp., 159pps, later cloth. Scarce. (1)
Positive Proof of Hyde's AuthorshipManuscript: Hyde (Dr. Douglas) 'An Craoibhín' A short ALs. to Lady Gregory, 4 pp (single folded sheet), in pencil, from Ratra, July 14 1918. 'I met Yeats in Dublin, & he gave me your kind message ... I came home at the end of June, but am not much better, I cannot fish or boat or bicycle, and when the grouse come in I fear I won't be able to shoot! .. I enclose a poem which may amuse you. I wrote it in a white heat when Lloyd George made his conscription speech.'The poem is the well-known 'Almost any O or MAC to Almost any Englishman, with Almost any Englishman's Answer', a most effective polemic, which we believe was not ascribed to Hyde when first published. It is here printed on one side of a folio sheet, inscribed in manuscript 'July 1918. An Craoibhín do scríobh agus é tinn ar a leabaidh' ['Douglas Hyde wrote this on his sick-bed']. Very rare, probably printed for Hyde.'On reading Christopher Benson's "Hymn for Empire Day". 'Lord of our fathers, for we too / As well as Benson, have our God, / Call off from us his callous crew / And break in two his ruthless rod / And numb we pray the unpitying hand / Which tortured us so many a year, / And make his nation understand / There is a God above to fear ..'With related stamped envelope, addressed in Hyde's hand to 'Lady Gregory, Teach na Cúlach, Gort, Co. Galway, inscribed in Lady Gregory's hand, '1918 (The War)'. (1)Provenance: From the collection of Mrs. Catherine Kennedy, 'Nu' the grand-daughter of Lady Gregory. Her father Robert, was the subject of W.B. Yeats's poem, "An Irish Airman Forsees His Death."
A Plot Against the Gaelic League?Manuscript: Hyde (Dr. Douglas) 'An Craoibhín Aoibhinn'. An important manuscript letter, 8 pp (two folded sheets), on his Ratra Notepaper, dated Márta [March] 24, [19]02, to an unnamed correspondent ['A Charaid dhílis'], evidently a Donegal resident, and his/her friend Pádraig, who is also to be informed.'I am writing to you on an important matter that concerns the very life or death of the Gaelic League.' Hyde says a friend in whom he has the fullest confidence, has informed him of a plot being hatched in the office of the Freeman newspaper. 'The power of the Gaelic League was to be broken. We were getting too strong for the "National" cause (i.e. the politicians) .. The plot is to be carried out by making the Branches adopt a new Constitution which is being urged upon them by Mr. O'Keefe, a Freeman reporter - who is not working at his own expense. This Constitution will leave the Executive at headquarters only a shadow of power. The real power & funds will be dissipated amongst a number of local bodies which are much easier managed & controlled.'Hyde claims that 'Dr. O'Hickey, John MacNeill (the founder of the Gaelic League) and myself are to be got rid of, the first two because they are "political disruptionists" (which they are not), & I because I am dangerous for other reasons. This is to be done by providing that both President & Vice Presidents be elected by ballot. When we are got rid of & the power of the Executive reduced to vanishing point, then there will be peace ..'Hyde says that 'it has been our strong central executive, controlling 3 organizers, a paid staff, a weekly paper, & ruling 300 branches from our rooms in Dublin, that has made us a power .. It is this that has made MPs assist us in Parliament, & that has enabled us to beat first the National and then the Intermediate Board [of Education], in so far as we have beaten them. But once break up the central grip of affairs, dissipate the money & power amongst a number of local bodies, & the League becomes useless as a power either for good or ill in the national life.'Hyde asks his correspondent to give a strong lead to the delegates from Donegal in the right direction, and to keep what he has written quite secret, firstly to protect his informant, and secondly because 'to publish matters wd create a row in the face of the enemy, & we can defeat the scheme quietly by being forewarned.' (1)A most important letter for the history of the Gaelic League, and an indication of Hyde's effectiveness as an organiser. As a m/ss, w.a.f. Ex. Rare.
Co. Limerick: [Hyde (Dr. Douglas)] Irish Folk Lore. 'Jack the Gambler', and seven similar folk tales in English, transcribed in cyclostyled typescript, about 50 pp in all, the first inscribed in Hyde's hand, 'An ingen uasal Jevers do scríobh iad so, ó chondae Luimnighe. An Windelach do thug domhsa iad, 1905?'. Interesting collection of folk-tales from Co. Limerick, some with the story-teller identified in manuscript, some with Hyde's notes as to related story-types. As a collection. (1)
Hyde, Dr. Douglas [First President of Ireland]A good collection including:- Ruthven, J.F. Ireland and Dr. Douglas Hyde. Offprint, July 1938. Laid in is an ALS from Ruthven to President Hyde, 28 July [19]38, thanking him for his letter. 'I hope very much that you will be able to remove many of the causes of friction' [between Britain and Ireland].- [De hÍde, Dubhghlas]. I gComhar na bPáistí. Sé Ubhla as 'Ubhla de'n Chraoibh', An Craoibhín do chan. Riobard Ó Duibhir do chuir ceol leo. O'Dwyer, Dublin, qto wraps, with printed music. Very scarce.- Telegram to Douglas Hyde, Frenchpark, Roscommon, July 14 [19]09. 'Important accident here Sunday could you attend / Griffin Railway Athlone.' A puzzling item, possibly intended for Hyde's father, a clergyman (but named Arthur).- The Gaelic League and Politics. Pronouncement by Dr. Douglas Hyde (President). 8 pp, Gaelic League, probably first printing.- A bundle of various offprints and proofs, some extensively corrected by Hyde.- Songs of the Connacht Bards. A scrapbook (partly disbound) containing offprints of Hyde's articles in the Weekly Freeman 1893-4, presumably assembled by Hyde himself.- A folder containing Minutes of Evidence to a Royal Commission conducting hearings about academic standards and structures at Trinity College Dublin, 1906, of which Dr. Hyde was a member, the minutes for the 3rd day, marked 'Confidential / Douglas Hyde' and the 8th day, marked on cover in Hyde's hand. The witnesses on the 8th day included Rev. Dr. J.P. Mahaffy and others. As a collection, w.a.f. (1)
Abbey Theatre: Howe (P.P.)ed. & Others. The Abbey Theatre Dublin, sm. oblong 16mo D. n.d. [c. 1911] Sole Edn., illus. 18pp includ. orig. wrappers, decor. front cover & with adverts on rere. In fine condition. V. Rare. (1)* Gives a list of plays produced at the Abbey & its predecessors, with dates of First Performances.
Pincher (Chapman) The Penthouse Conspirators, 8vo L. (M. Joseph) 1970 First Edn.,; Green (H.) Nothing, 8vo N.Y. (Viking 1950), First Edn.; Mankowitz (W.) The Samson Riddle, 8vo, L. 1972, First Edn., illus. by Edward Delaney; Fermor (P. Leigh) The Travellers Tree, 8vo L. (J. Murray) 1950, First Edn.; Terkel (Studs) Hard Times, An Oral History of the Great Depression, 8vo N.Y. (Pantheon) 1970, First Edn., all cloth & d.j. clean copies, as a lot, w.a.f. (5)
Abbey Theatre: Kelleher (D.L.) An original Abbey Theatre Programme for first production of Stephen Grey A Dream and An Incident, in One Act by Kelleher, for March 1909, & Signed on outside by Kelleher; also an ALs. on National Theatre Society notepaper to Kelleher from W.A. Henderson (manager), 1909 discussing the performance of Kelleher's play; another Programme for a Kelleher play performed for Irish Society of the City and University of Liverpool, 1911; and an original medical certificate issued to Kelleher by Queen's College, Cork, 1903. Interesting collection. As a lot, w.a.f. (1)
Denis Johnston - Unpublished MemoirsJohnston (Denis) (1901 - 1984) Established his reputation as an Important Playwright with his first play The Old Lady Says "No!" produced by The Gate Theatre Dublin in 1929. Johnston went on to have a diverse and distinguished career as writer, director, literary critic, BBC war correspondent and academic.This archive of 4 Original Typescripts by Johnston comprises a total of 23 closely typed folio pages of his reminiscences of his school days in Dublin, seven years at the Bar, the early days of TV at the BBC, working as a World War Two correspondent in the Middle East, and his experiences lecturing at American Universities. The typescripts are early drafts for a series of Radio Eireann broadcasts made by Johnston in the 1970s entitled Orders and Desercrations - The Harvest of Dragon's Teeth / Buttercups and Blood, Getting Out and Security. One typescript is signed in ink by Johnston and all have copius corrections and additions in his handwriting. Also included in the lot is a 5 page facsimile copy of an additional Johnston script. The Scales of Soloman, which is clearly part of the same series. (1)
Rare First ProductionIrish Literary Theatre 1899. 'The Countess Cathleen' by W.B. Yeats, and 'The Heather Field' by Edward Martyn, will be performed for the first time in The Antient Concert Rooms [May 8-13] .. by a Specially selected Company of Professional Artistes under the general Management of Miss Florence Farr. Corrigan & Wilson, Printers, Upr. Sackville St. Brochure, 4 pp (single folded sheet), on good quality laid paper, with a note on the Irish Literary Theatre and a list of Artistes engaged. Very scarce, The Theatre's first production.
Yeats (W.B.). 'Countess Cathleen'. Programme for a drawing-room performance at the Chief Secretary's Lodge, Phoenix Park, Dublin, January 1899. 4 pp, single folded sheet, Dublin printed, with a note about the play, dramatis personae (with the Countess of Fingall as Countess Cathleen) and a list of tableaux. The first performance of scenes from the play, four months before the first full stage performance (see previous item). Cover a little browned, traces of mounting to rear, otherwise v. good."The Light of LightsLooks always on the motive, not the deed; The shadow of shadows on the deed alone."* Exceptionally Rare.
Abbey Theatre. Programme. Irish National Theatre Society. Quarto brown wrappers with hound design. Tuesday 27 December 1904 and subsequent dates, the programme for the Society's First season at the Abbey Theatre following its purchase and presentation by Miss Horniman. The plays included the 'first performance on any stage' of W.B. Yeats' On Baile's Strand and Lady Gregory's Spreading the News. A historic programme, marking a milestone in Irish cultural history. Fine copy, rare. (1)
Synge's First Play on Abbey StageAbbey Theatre. Programme. Irish National Theatre Society. Quarto brown wrappers with hound design. 6-11 February 1905, production 'for the first time on any stage' of The Well of the Saints by J.M. Synge.This was only the second production at the Abbey Theatre. A little scuffed, good copy. (1)
First Production of "The Playboy..."[The Abbey Theatre]. Programme. Saturday 26th January 1907, for seven nights, including first production of The Playboy of the Western World by J.M. Synge, with notes on the language and the characters by Synge. Probably the most celebrated and controversial production in the entire history of Irish theatre. A very fine copy. Extremely Scarce. (1)
Signed by Sean O'Casey & OthersAbbey Theatre, Dublin. Twenty-First Birthday Anniversary Performance, 27th December 1925. Quarto, orig. brown wrappers with device of boy and hound. With a list of plays produced at the Abbey, etc. Inscribed inside rear cover by a galaxy of Abbey personalities including the playwright Sean O'Casey (soon afterwards he fell out with the Abbey), and actors including Maureen Delaney, May Craig, Eileen Crowe, Shelah Richards, Arthur Shields and F.J. McCormick. Fine copy, a splendid souvenir. (1)
Yeats (Jack B) A short ALs. on his headed Paper, Fitzwilliam Square, dated July 7 1949, 1 pp, to a Miss Thomas. 'Yes, I saw Jean Gaillard two or three times before he went away to the West: he is a very interesting, and intelligent, man, and I am sure he was capable of these mental pictures his friend describes ..', also mentioning Hilda Graham, who 'had a very little time when she came over here'. With a good signature, 'Jack B. Yeats'. As a m/ss., w.a.f. (1)Jack Yeats was an assiduous correspondent, particularly to patrons or potential patrons. There are several possibilities for the identity of Jean Gaillard, one of them a First World War flying ace.
The Yeats BroadsheetsYeats (Jack B.) & Pamela Colman Smith A Broadsheet. Nos 1 -12, First Year complete, Jan. - Dec. 1902. Folio broadsheets, each 20" x 15" (51cms x 38cms), the drawings hand coloured by the artists, published and sold by Elkin Mathews, Vigo St., London. Edited by Jack Yeats, who also contributed about half the illustrations, including 'The Pooka!' 'The Back Strand Races, Sligo,' Shows at the Fair,' 'The Gipsy,' 'A Sligo Ballad Singer,' etc. This is the first appearance of the drawings of West of Ireland life which later became a familiar part of Jack Yeats' work, usually under the title 'Life in the West of Ireland'. Pamela Colman Smith was an Australian artist; some of her work here is remarkably similar to that of Yeats, and evidently she was influenced by him. She contributed to the first year only; the 'Broadsheets' continued for a second year, when Jack Yeats was joined by other members of his family. The literary contents of the 'Broadsheet' include poems by W.B. Yeats, 'A.E.', Jack Yeats himself, and others, some pseudonymous.No limitation is recorded, but it is unlikely that more than a few hundred copies of each Broadsheet were produced and coloured. Because of its large size, very few have survived in good condition, and sets are far scarcer than the later 'A Broadside' (a folded sheet less than half the size). Extremely Rare.The present set is slightly foxed in places, and most sheets are frayed at the lower corners without any loss of text or pictures. The colouring is fresh and the condition is generally very good.
Signed by W.B. Yeats & Dorothy WellesleyBroadsides: A Collection of New Irish and English Songs, folio D. (Cuala Press) 1937. 12 Copies Issued in Monthly Parts. First Edition. Lim. to 300 Copies. Drawings by Jack B. Yeats, Harry Kernoff, Victor Brown etc. Poetic contributions by W.B. Yeats, Oliver St. John Gogarty, James Stephens, F.R. Higgins etc. With general title & letterpress. Signed by W.B. Yeats & Dorothy Wellesley, and with hd. cold. illus. thro. out. Loose. V. good clean copies. As a lot. (1)
The Authors First Two BooksSmith (Michael) Dedications, sm. 4to D. (New Writers Press) 1968. First Limited Edition, 200 Copies, orig. decor. wrappers. Signed Pres. Inscription to Katherine Kavanagh; With the Woodnymphs, 8vo D. (New Writers Press) 1968. Lim. Edn. No. 142 of 300 Copies, orig. decor. wrappers; Poems, 4to Advent Books, 1971. Lim. Edn. No. 42 of 150 Copies. With Signed Presentation Inscription, decor. wrappers; Stopping to take Notes, D. (New Writers Press) 1979. Signed First Edn., pict. wrappers. All Scarce. (4)
From Lady Gregory's Library[Gregory (Lady A.)] Dowden (Edward) Fragments from Old Letters E.D. to E.D.W. 1869 -1892, L. 1914. First Edn. Inscribed on f..f.end 'To J.B. Yeats from A.Gregory,' cloth; Taylor (Bert Leston) A Penny Whistle together with The Babette Ballads. N.Y. 1922. With Pres. Inscription, 'To Lady Gregory... Emme Bourne Taylor (Mrs. B.L.T.),' & signed with initials by author, also with Ld. Gregory's bookplate; Ervine (St. John G.) John Ferguson A Play in Four Acts, D. 1915. First Edn., Signed Pres. Inscription to Lady Gregory & with her bookplate, cloth & d.w.; Lowell (J. Russell) The Biglow Papers, L. 1861. Signed by W.H. Gregory, 1866, & with his bookplate for Coole Park. An interesting lot. (4)
Two ALS Letters Re The 17th Century Iron Mines at EnniscorthyCo. Wexford Manuscript: Ironworks were established at Enniscorthy in 1661. The first letter, dated 27 September of that year, is written by Bartholomew Hussey to John Morris in London. He has apparently been instructed to "seize on the sow and pigge iron Mr Low claimes for the Lord's rent", and requests specific authorisation to do so, for "without it they will undoubtedly put a baffle upon me".The second and much longer letter, dated 23 August 1669, is written by James Morley, also to John Morris in London. He reports that the Mayor of Wexford has seized iron from the mines in lieu of payment of a debt of £11,000 by Morris, and has refused the writer's offer to go bail for the debt. There is also an enigmatic reference to the tenancy of the manor: "There are very strange Reports how that Mr Stampe & the Lords have agreed … to be Tenant of ye manner of Enniscorthy, but hope it proceeds from noe better ground than other the tales of Stampe & his Creatures, which is their father the devill the author of all their lying & villanyes." As m/ss, w.a.f. These letters provide interesting sidelights on the development of the 17th-century ironworks in Co. Wexford. (2)
Hayward (Richard) Munster and the City of Cork, 8vo L. (Phoenix House) 1964, First Edn., Signed by the Author & Illustrator (Raymond Piper), all cloth & d.j.,Raine (Kathleen) The Lost Country, 8vo L. (The Dolmen Press) 1992, Reprint, Signed by the Author; Murphy (R.) The Mirror Wall, 8vo U.K. 1989, Review copy; Johnston (J.) Truth or Fiction, 8vo L. 2009; O'Brien (Edna) The Light of Evening, 8vo L. 2006, as a lot, w.a.f. (5)
The Missing Log of the H.M.S. LiffeyManuscript Journal: Naval Interest - "Log of HMS Liffey commanded by Capt J.O. Johnson, kept by Conyers Lang, 1867." Covers the dates 31 July 1867 to 10 Nov 1868. Illustrated title page. 28 views (water colours and pencil sketches throughout) and 4 coloured maps showing the ship's routes. Bound in calf with gold tooling, later spine, marbled endpapers. 145 pp. 33 x 22 cm. This is the detailed and beautifully illustrated record of a Royal Naval frigate over a fifteen-month period. HMS Liffey was launched in 1856; she was a wooden-hulled, three-masted sailing ship with auxiliary steam power (screw-propelled), weighed 2654 tons, and carried an armament of 51 guns and a crew of 545. She was the second of five ships in her class, the first being HMS Shannon. Initially she served in the Mediterranean but in 1867 she was on the home station. The log begins with her departure from Plymouth, and for the next few months she cruised off the south-west coast of Ireland, proceeding from Queenstown (Cobh) to Berehaven and Foynes and then back. After her return to England she formed part of an expedition that brought a new British Ambassador to Copenhagen and then continued to Kronstadt. In July 1868 she was employed as guard of honour to Queen Victoria at Cowes in the Isle of Wight. In October she proceeded to Madeira and thence to Colon in Panama.The log records details of provisions taken on board, of changes in the crew, of drills and repairs, and the names of other ships encountered on the voyage. One especially poignant feature is the recording of deaths of seamen, for instance: "10 Oct 1867: Richard Smith found dead in hammock and was buried in Castletownbere" and "10 June 1868: Seaman Denis Shea fell overboard and drowned when coming in to Cronstadt."Between June 1869 and November 1870 Liffey was a member of "The Flying Squadron", consisting of four frigates and two corvettes, which was dispatched by the Admiralty on a world tour designed to promote British naval prestige. In 1877 she was converted to a store hulk and her machinery was removed, but in the following year she performed her most spectacular achievement, rescuing the crew of the Anita, a German barque full of combustible materials which had caught fire after leaving Madeira. She spent the remainder of her life at Coquimbo in Chile, where she was sold and hulked in 1903.The online Naval Database gives no information about Liffey between 1864 and 1868, which includes the months covered by the log now offered for sale. Perhaps this is because the record-keeper, Conyers Lang - who is not listed among the ship's officers on the cruise of The Flying Squadron - held onto it when he left the ship? In addition to the log itself, the lot includes background research on HMS Liffey and a print-out of the online narrative of the cruise of The Flying Squadron written by Liffey midshipman Marcus McCausland. As a m/ss, w.a.f. (1)
Collection of Signed First Editions Francis (Dick) Nerve (London 1964) First Edn. Signed, v.g. ; For Kicks (London 1965) First Edn. Signed, v.g.; Forfeit (London 1968) First Edn, Signed, v.g.; Smokescreen, (London 1972) First Edn, signed, v.g.; Rat Race (London 1970) v.g.; Slay Ride (London 1973) v.g.; Blood Sport, (London 1967); The Frame, (London 1976) First Edn; Risk (London 1977) First Edn.,; Enquiry (London 1969) First Edn signed v.g.; Knock Down (London 1974) first Edn., signed, v.g.; High Stakes (London 1975) First Edn, signed; Trial Run, (London 1978) First Edn., signed, v.g.; Proof, (London 1984) First Edn., signed v.g.; Banker (London 1982) First Edn., signed, v.g.; Whip Hand (London 1979) First Edn., signed, v.g.; Come To Grief, (London 1995) First Edn, signed v.g., Second Wind (London 1999) all signed and some inscribed, orig. cloth & d.j. Together 18 vols. A very good clean collection. (1)
[Co. Kilkenny] Legal Cases, A collection of approx. 80 m/ss Letters & Documents dealing with cattle rustling, evictions, forgery, child abandonment, and more, all relating to the County of Kilkenny over a period of 100 years, dating from 1756 - 1850, as m/ss, as a collection, w.a.f. (1)* An important collection of first hand material dealing with a cross range of legal cases in County Kilkenny, at an important time.
Co. Carlow: Carlow Gaol [1870's] A Collection of approximately 100 signed receipts for the Jail dating from 1877 including the months September to December, all authorised and stamped by the inland revenue, all relating to wages for governor, matron, turnkey, police etc., also receipts for expenses for a coat for a "Poor Prisoner," boots, printing, food, etc., as a collection, w.a.f. (1)* An interesting source of first hand material relating to the day to day running of an Irish Prison in the Victoria Era.
Lord Rosse's ObservatoryThe Milky Way from Co. OffalyCo. Offaly:Boeddicker (Otto) The Milky Way from The North Pole to 10 of South Declination, drawn at the Earl of Rosse's Observatory at Birr Castle, folio L. (Longmens, Green & Co.) 1892, First Edn., portfolio, t.p. with black and white engraving of Birr Castle, Offaly, four loose litho plts after W.H. Wesley, together with the six part plts., fold. plt. & loose plts. in the off print of Lord Oxmantown on the Great Nebula in Orion, also the original ptd. prospectus, all housed in original blue cloth folder, ptd. label. Scarce. (1)
[Irish Map] Ortelius (Abraham) Hibernia Eryn Hiberniae Britannicae Insula Nova descriptio - Irlandt, hd. cold. engd. map, [issued in Ortelius Theatrum Ordis Terrarum] * dated 1572, approx. 44cms x 55cms (17" x 21 1/2") overall, contemp. hd. colouring, unframed. Clean Copy. (1)* Ireland first appeared in Ortelius Theatrum in 1573 as an additamentum.
Johnston (Denis) The Moon in the Yellow River and The Old Lady Says No! Two Plays, L. 1932; Storm Song and A Bride for the Unicorn. Two Plays, L. 1935; The Golden Cuckoo and Other Plays, L. 1954, d.w.; and Collected Plays, Vols. 1 & 2, 2 vols. L. 1960, orig. d.w.'s. All First Editions, & good. (5)
Arrested and Detained In Easter Week: The Ordeal of The Marquis MacSwiney[Mac Swiney (V.E.P.)] An 8pp typed Letter signed "P. MacSwiney of Mashanaglass", on headed notepaper "National Volunteers, Inspecting Officer for Co. Kerry, Brooklands, Killarney", dated 18 May 1916 and addressed to Major J. Crean, Acting Inspecting Officer, National Volunteers. (1)The writer gives a vivid and detailed account of his arrest in Dublin and detention by security forces during the Rising of Easter Week 1916. While being removed from his house in Waterloo Road to the Castle the party came under heavy fire from the insurgents. After interrogation he was imprisoned, together with Count Plunkett (father of Proclamation signatory Joseph Plunkett), in a cell with some twenty other prisoners in cramped conditions. The following day they were removed for internment, except MacSwiney, who was released after further interrogation.MacSwiney describes with a mixture of horror and humour the courtesy of the officers who had arrested him and their courage under fire; the appalling conditions in which he was held overnight (they were fed "very much in the manner as food is thrown to the bears and other wild beasts at the zoo"); and the kindness of his fellow-prisoners.Valentine Emmanuel Patrick MacSwiney, Marquis of Mashanaglass (1871-1945) was born in Paris, his father being an Irish banker and his mother a Polish countess. A gifted linguist, he served on several diplomatic missions for the Holy See, being created a marquis by Pope Leo XIII in 1895. In 1914 he and his family settled in Dublin, where he joined the Irish Volunteers. When the movement split between the supporters and opponents of John Redmond, he remained with the pro-Redmond National Volunteers, and served for a time as Inspecting Officer for Co. Kerry - hence his brief detention in 1916.MacSwiney interested himself in the revival of Irish industry, especially forestry. In the 1920s he served on Irish Free State delegations to the League of Nations. A Knight of Malta, he became President of the Irish Association in 1939 and during the Second World War - though suffering from ill health - he vigorously promoted the work of the Ambulance Corps and the training of members in first aid. An accomplished scholar, he was Vice-President of the Royal Irish Academy in 1936-39 and is remembered today mainly as a pioneer of the study of the Irish brigades in the armies of France, Spain and elsewhere.Through his mother, MacSwiney was first cousin of Vernon Kell, a founder of the British Secret Service Bureau. Kell would have known that MacSwiney was opposed to the Rising - hence perhaps his prompt release?A fascinating first-hand account of the experience of a well-known Irishman during the Easter Rising.
Sean Mac Bride [1904-88] A very interesting typescript report to the IRA Chief of Staff, 16.4.25, signed initials SmacB, 'Comdt., Officer i/c finance & Accounts,' concerning a mission to investigate options for arms purchase in Germany and Belgium, on headed paper paper of Oglaigh na hEireann GHA, 5pp, with 2pp specifications from an arms supplier, Sean Mac Bride, a son of Major John Mac Bride and Maud Gonne Mac Bride, was a Na Fianna and the IRA from an early age. He opposed the Treaty, and after escaping from Mountjoy Jail late in 1923 he joined IRA GHQ, and took charge of the IRA's finances, producing regular monthly balance sheets (see other documents in this archive.) He spoke French fluently, and evidently he made journeys to continental Europe to source arms purchases.The present report describes a journey to London, Paris, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Berlin, Antwerp, Liege and back through Liverpool, meeting two arms suppliers from Germany, Grotstuck and Becker, and in Belgium. He says Grotstuck had proved unreliable previously in relation to supplies left in their care. In relation to Becker, 'In some respects I would rather deal with this man as his dealings in arms would be illegal from the Reparations Commission's point of view, and therefore, he would take greater care than if it were an ordinary business transaction. On the other hand, I am convinced that if he got the lightest opportunity for swindling us, he would probably avail of it.' However, Mac Bride suggests dealing mainly with the Belgian supplier as his prices are lower and he is prepared to ship supplies close to the Irish coast.Mac Bride also mentions supplies purchased by a previous IRA Director of Purchases, most of which he says are now lost or stolen. 'The only goods which we definitely possess on the Continent are 50,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition which is in Hamburg. I arranged to have this removed to another warehouse as I did not look on the warehouse where it was as being trustworthy.' He also mentions the activities of 'Briscoe' [Robert Briscoe, an import/export trader, later a Fianna Fail TD and Lord Mayor of Dublin.]In later life Mac Bride became an Irish Government Minister and was founder of Amnesty International. He was the first person to be awarded both the Nobel Peace Prize and the Lenin Peace prize. His biography by Anthony Jordan does not mention his arms purchase activities, and they are touched on only briefly in his entry in the recent Dictionary of Irish Biography. (1)
Oscar Wilde's First Separate PublicationWilde (Oscar) Newdigate Prize Poem - Ravenna - Recited In the The Theatre, Oxford, June 26, 1878, sm. 8vo Oxford (Thos. Shrimpton & Son) 1878, First Edn., coat of arms for Oxford University on t.p., 16pps, end wrappers repaired, recent leather backed marble boards, ptd. label. Scarce. [Mason 301]. (1)
John Sparrow's Copy[Johnson (Lionel)] The Book of Rhymers' Club, 12mo, L. (Elkin Mathews at the Sign of the Bodley Head) 1892, First Edn., hf. title, Ltd. Edn. 450 Copies, with a three pp m/ss poem "Walter Pater" by Lionel Johnson (his last poem) on f.e.p. and another 2pps m/ss poem on end papers "In Memory of Lionel Johnson" each possibly by John Sparrow", Signed and dated 11 Oct, 1902, uncut, cream coloured cloth, ptd. label.* Ex. Libris John Sparrow* Lionel Johnson was a senior member of The Rhymers Club, which included W.B. Yeats, G.A. Greene, & others. (1)
[Yeats (W.B.)] Poems and Ballads of Young Ireland 1888. Dublin, Gill 1888. Sm 8vo white cloth (soiled), black e.p. (Wade 289, First Issue). Includes four poems by Yeats, notably the first appearance of The Stolen Child, also items by Hyde, Todhunter, Rolleston etc. Inscribed in pencil on verso of f.f.e.p., 'Pan-Celtic Society'. An important book. (1)It is believed that the book was edited by John O'Leary in consultation with Yeats, Katharine Tynan and others. This first issue is extremely scarce.
First Published Edition of MosadaYeats (W.B.). The Dublin University Review, issue for June 1886, containing the first printing of Yeats' poem Mosada at pp. 473-483. A little spotting at edges, part of last leaf torn (adverts) away with loss (not affecting Mosada), o.w. a fine copy as published. An offprint of 100 copies from this setting, with a portrait, was W.B. Yeats' first separate publication. A great rarity in either version, and a milestone in Irish literature. (1)Yeats later wrote in a copy, 'I wrote it when I was twenty-one & think rather sadly that when young men of that age send in like work I am not able to foresee his future or his talent.'
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