Saint Patrick banished snakes from Ireland. Fortunately, he allowed bookworms to stick around.
From Jimmy Joyce to William Butler Yeats…
Beginning today, March 17, 2010 – St. Patrick’s Day – Irish bookhounds and hounds of rare Irish books, art, and eiriana – or simply those blessed with the luck o’ the Irish – can get a sneak-peek at a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when Bloomsbury – New York previews The Irish Sale, to be held next Tuesday, March 23, 2010, presumably to allow hangovers ample time to subside prior to bidding.
Amongst the sixty-nine eye-opening lots being offered, which include books, artwork, manuscripts, silver and furniture, are the following highlights:
William Butler Yeats. Mosada. A Dramatic Poem. Dublin: Sealy, Bryers, and Walker, 1886. The author’s first book, of great scarcity. Provenance: Thomas Edwin Butler Yeats, second cousin to Jack B. and William B. Yeats (Ownership stamp to upper right corner of first text leaf); his daughter Grace Yeats. Wade, in his Bibliography of the Writings of W.B. Yeats, states that Yeats seems to have kept no copy of Mosada for himself and therefore copies retained by the family are the closest association to the author available. Lot 1.
James Joyce. Ulysses. Paris: Shakespeare and Company, 1922. Original blue paper wrappers printed in white, housed in a quarter blue morocco slipcase. Condition: Mild age toning to leaves of text; expert restoration to spine and wrapper edges. The first edition of Joyce’s modernist masterpiece: number 635 of 750 copies on handmade paper. Lot 8.
John F. Kennedy. (Typed Manuscript Signed) ‘Emon [sic] de Valera Seeks to Unite All Ireland: Erie Premier Answers Dillon on Constitutional Rights’. New York: 29 July, 1945. Five pages, 4to. An article written for the New York Journal American during Kennedy’s brief stint as a journalist. Lot 24.
The Only Full-Sized Tricolor of the 1916 Uprising Extant, Captured by British Forces from the GPO, Dublin ‘In the name of God and of the dead generations… Ireland, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for freedom… supported by her exiled children in America and by gallant allies in Europe…she strikes in full confidence of victory’ —from ‘The Proclamation of the Republic’ 24 April 1916. TRICOLOUR FLAG OF THE IRISH REVOLUTION Irish linen, three sections, green, white and yellow-gold, accompanied by a note from Dr George St. George (owner from circa 1916-1922) reading ‘Captured by British Troops at GPO DUBLIN, April 1916 and given to Dr. George St. George by an old War veteran, Sergt. Davis’ 29 by 63 inches, 75 by 160cm Provenance: Irish Republic, Dublin 24-30 April 1916; Captured by Sergeant Thomas Davis, Royal Dublin Fusiliers (service number 30927). Lot 26.
Sir John Lavery. Sunbathers, 1936, Oil on canvas Signed lower left, 55.5 x 43.5 in (141 x 110cm. Lot 27.
Louis le Brocquy. Trilogy On An Assassination, Reflection On Mourning, Reflection On Dying, Reflection On Grief, Oil on canvas Each panel signed, inscribed and dated on reverse. 16 x 32 in (41 x 81cm) This work is a reaction to what, for millions of people around the world, and in particular the USA and Ireland, was a momentous event – the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy on 22 November 1963. Lot 42.
Tell the banshee to quit wailing, stuff a sock in it, and have a shot of Bushmill’s: Not everything in this Emerald Isle sale requires so much green. There are lots being offered for less than $2000, one of which must be heard to be believed.
James Joyce. James Joyce Reading his ‘Anna Livia Plurabelle’. New York: The James Joyce Society and distributed by Gotham Book Mart, [recorded 1929, released c. 1950-60]. Original vinyl record, in plain brown sleeve. Condition: Record in apparently good condition, some creases to sleeve. In 1929 in London, James Joyce recorded the Anna Livia Plurabelle segment from his last work Finnegan’s Wake. Lot 13.
The auction is so interesting it makes me want to get up and dance a reel. I’ll spare you and let The Chieftains take it from here: