The Collection
Antiquarian Books & Publications
Antiquarian books, first editions, signed and association copies, illustrated works and historical publications.
Looking for books with Irish provenance? Explore Irish Historical Material →
Oscar Wilde — The Picture of Dorian Gray, Paris 1905
Paris, Charles Carrington. “Sole Authorised Edition” in original decorated water-lily cloth. Visible foxing.
Thomas Moore — Irish Melodies, with Edmund Edmunds Family Inscription
Red cloth edition with an unusual 1950 family manuscript account of a performance before Thomas Moore.
The Rationale of Mesmerism, 1902 — A. P. Sinnett, with Chicago Theosophical Book Concern Label
Second edition of A. P. Sinnett’s treatise on mesmeric phenomena, London, 1902. Original gilt-lettered red cloth retaining the historic bookseller’s label of the Theosophical Book Concern, Room 426, 26 Van Buren Street, Chicago.
Strange True Stories of Louisiana, 1905 — George W. Cable in a Gilt Floral Binding Signed MA
A 1905 New York illustrated edition of George W. Cable’s documentary Louisiana narratives, in olive-green cloth with an elaborate gilt floral cover bearing the MA monogram, attributed to Margaret Armstrong.
In Search of the Nile — Bruce’s Travels in Abyssinia, 1849, with a Victorian Manchester School Inscription
Illustrated 1849 Halifax edition of James Bruce’s African travels, in original blind-stamped cloth, with a manuscript inscription dated 1867 referring apparently to the British Schools, Manchester.
Drunken Husbands and Victorian Poverty — The Domestic Habits of the People, with George Cruikshank Illustrations, 1852
First Thousand issue of an 1852 Victorian temperance and social-history pamphlet by “Common Sense”, issued with six illustrations attributed to George Cruikshank and a remarkable original Gutta Percha Company advertisement on the rear wrapper. Both printed wrappers are detached but retained; presence of all six plates requires checking.
The Animals of Scripture — Harland Coultas’s Zoology of the Bible, First Edition, 1876
First edition, Wesleyan Conference Office, 1876. A striking original Victorian gilt-and-black bestiary binding, with illustrated zoological descriptions.
Victorian Politics in Hand Shadows — Lights & Shadows on the Wall, Third Series
1845 London edition of Pellico’s prison memoir, retaining the armorial ex libris of Richard Rothwell, High Sheriff of Meath (1839).
An Irish Landed Gentry Library — Silvio Pellico’s Le mie prigioni, 1845, from Richard Rothwell of Rockfield
1845 London edition of Pellico’s prison memoir, retaining the armorial ex libris of Richard Rothwell, High Sheriff of Meath (1839).
Rimbaud in Paris, 1938 — Miguel Fontecha’s Presentation Copy to Pianist Gerna Gilmour
Inscribed by Miguel Fontecha to Canadian pianist Gerna Gilmour in Paris, 11 November 1938; a remarkable musical association copy.
Victorian Britain Under the Microscope — Tobacco, Fraud and the Science of Detection, 1858
Prescott’s first edition examining the identification of tobacco adulterants using botanical illustration and microscopy. Original green blind-stamped cloth.
Round the World, 1890 — Ida Pfeiffer and a Surviving Dublin Bookseller’s Label
Illustrated 1890 travel book based on Ida Pfeiffer’s journeys, retaining an original Robert Stewart bookseller’s label from 2 Nassau Street, Dublin, and a vivid pictorial red cloth binding.
A Mother’s Lasting Gift — Victorian Poetry and an 1877 Family Memorial
An 1869 collection with handwritten family remembrance, Writtle connections and a later presentation dated 1892.
Syphilis & Marriage — Alfred Fournier, 1881 | First English Edition & Victorian Manuscript Note
Fournier · Medical History · Contemporary manuscript note
The Art of Mocking Society — Georgian Satire, 1807
Period decorative binding and Rowlandson’s biting visual satire; an illustrated window onto Georgian society.
A Victorian Astronomer’s World — With an Irish Armorial Bookplate
The armorial ex libris of Simon Little of Cullentra, County Wexford, connects popular astronomy to an Irish private library.
My Strangest Case — Guy Boothby, 1902 First British Edition in Serpent-Decorated Cloth
Guy Boothby — My Strangest Case, 1902 · Original Serpent Binding
Ian Fleming — Octopussy and The Living Daylights, 1966 First Edition in Exceptional Dust Jacket
First edition, first impression · Fine original unclipped Richard Chopping dust jacket · First price intact
Across Typhoons and Pirate Seas — An Irish School Prize
A nineteenth-century travel narrative retaining evidence of its Irish educational provenance.
Flyfishing in Ireland — Peter O’Reilly’s Signed First Edition
Signed first edition · Merlin Unwin Books, 2000
Mark Twain, 1897 — The Lucy Carr Shaw Association
An individual copy whose Irish literary association is central to its history.
London Coachbuilding in 64 Carriage Types — Morgan & Co. Trade Catalogue
Rare illustrated London coachbuilders’ catalogue · 64-index price list
Behind the Footlights — A Theatre Professional’s Annotated Working Copy
Working plans and annotations documenting practical stage lighting in named theatres, 1931–1934.
A Wonderland in Red and Gold — Lewis Carroll’s Alice, Macmillan, 1928
An original 1928 London Macmillan printing of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, with John Tenniel’s forty-two celebrated illustrations and the publisher’s red cloth binding, gilt-stamped on the front cover.
Crime, Poison and the Medical Evidence — An Annotated 1906 Forensic Handbook with Dublin Bookseller Stamps
Brend’s first edition (1906), extensively marked by an unidentified reader; stamps of Fannin & Co., 41 Grafton Street, and Fred Hanna, 29 Nassau Street, Dublin.
A Horse in the Snow — Mary Howitt’s Our Four-Footed Friends in Original Pictorial Cloth
Fifth edition, c. 1870. Victorian animal stories with striking pictorial cloth cover; engravings associated with Harrison Weir.
The Sweet Poison of Sin — Fritzi Löw’s Viennese Illustrated Book of Eighteenth-Century Love Poems
German-language anthology edited by Victor Fleischer, published by Anton Schroll in Vienna, c. 1920–1924, with colour lithographs and decorative work by Fritzi Löw. Original painted binding; collation unverified.
An Italian New Testament in Regency England — Diodati’s 1821 Bagster Edition in a Decorated Red Binding
London, Samuel Bagster, 1821. Italian New Testament translated by Giovanni Diodati; striking red gilt and blind-tooled binding, marbled endpapers, Harper of Cheltenham stationer label.
The Challenge to Madame Blavatsky — Arthur Lillie’s Critical Study of Theosophy, 1895
London, Swan Sonnenschein & Co., 1895. First edition of Lillie’s contemporary critique of Blavatsky and the Theosophical movement; original burgundy cloth.
Marriage, Medicine and Victorian Womanhood — S. Randolph’s True Womanhood, 1899
Author-published in South Shields, 1899. A late-Victorian marriage and women’s health manual by a self-described phrenologist and hygienist, with portrait frontispiece.
A Personal Dedication from Richard Condon — Arigato, First Edition & First Printing, 1972
New York, Dial Press, 1972. First edition, first printing expressly stated. Large signed and dated presentation inscription from Richard Condon to P. & C. Hyland, mentioning Dr. Philomena Quinn; original illustrated boards in attractive condition, without dust jacket.
First-edition status is specified in individual catalogue records only where bibliographically verified. More rare and first-edition books will be added as cataloguing proceeds.