The Collection · Rare Ephemera
Rare Ephemera
Original historical photographs, manuscripts, letters, trade advertisements, theatre programmes, printed ephemera and unusual historical objects. Each survives as a separately researched catalogue record.
The collection includes documentary material, historic photographic prints, albums, original letters and historical memorabilia. Individual records retain their own availability status.
At the Dublin Butcher’s Counter — Patrick Heron’s 93-Page Manuscript Account, 1951–1957
A remarkable post-war Dublin customer account book, 93 handwritten pages beginning 17 February 1951, with numerous Irish fiscal stamp usages in three distinct designs and dated Patrick Heron & Sons payment marks to 1957.
A Bullfight He Would Never Fight — Manolete Announced at Logroño, September 1947
Original colour-illustrated, double-sided programme for Logroño’s San Mateo festivities, announcing Manolete for 22 September 1947, after his death on 29 August.
An Oxford Street Purchase — Original Selfridges Sales Docket, 1952
Original Selfridges Ltd. Oxford Street sales and delivery docket, apparently dated 16 October 1952, with handwritten customer details, departmental entries and administrative markings.
The Cure for Baldness — Capsuloids, Edwardian Hair Advertising and T. P. O’Connor’s Circle, c. 1903
Original double-sided salmon-pink hair-restoration advertisement, with photographic testimonials, a hair-follicle diagram and a 1903 endorsement attributed to the wife of Irish nationalist politician T. P. O’Connor.
Two Gold Rings, One Lost Life — The Noel John Davies Memorial, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 1916
Two 9-carat gold mourning rings commemorating Second Lieutenant Noel John Davies, killed on the Western Front on 27 April 1916. Acquired separately from another dealer and reunited by Ten Bells; subsequently consigned by their present owner to Whyte’s, Dublin, in April 2026.
The Cornish Nightingale in Victorian Dublin — Madame Fanny Moody, Inscribed Operatic Portrait
Late-Victorian studio portrait of soprano Madame Fanny Moody (1866–1945), photographed by Chancellor at 55 Lower Sackville Street, Dublin. Prominent manuscript inscription on image, apparently including her married name Manners; autograph attribution has not been independently authenticated. Decorative royal patronage information to verso.
Cricket at Sydney Parade — Pembroke Cricket Club Stationery, Dublin, c. 1930s
Original unused printed letterhead for Pembroke Cricket Club, founded 1868, bearing its historic Sydney Parade address and naming honorary officers F. H. C. Salmon and T. C. Fox. Date line printed 193-, uncompleted.
Restoring a Forgotten Grave — A Dublin Solicitor’s Receipt from 1922
Original receipt issued on the stationery of Herbert D. Vaughan, solicitor, 11 Hume Street, Dublin, for two pounds paid toward rebuilding the headstone and side stones of Miss E. V. Sankey’s grave. Dated 13 October 1922, signed by William Barry. The reason for rebuilding and the location of the grave are unconfirmed.
Victorian Dublin Before Joyce — A Financial Letter, 8 January 1853
Original manuscript correspondence from the commercial premises of No. 9 Upper Ormond Quay, including references to financial arrangements. The premises were subsequently incorporated into the Ormond Hotel, later associated with the Sirens episode of James Joyce’s Ulysses. This is a subsequent location history only, not a direct Joyce association.
Victorian Dublin Before Joyce — Commercial Correspondence, 10 January 1853
An original letter on stationery of No. 9 Upper Ormond Quay, written in January 1853. The text concerns receipts and business matters. The premises were subsequently incorporated into the Ormond Hotel, later associated with the Sirens episode of James Joyce’s Ulysses. This is a subsequent location history only, not a direct Joyce association.
The Royal Guard at Stockholm Palace — Ceremonial Formation with Artillery, c. 1950s
Original period black-and-white photograph of military ceremonial formation and artillery in the outer courtyard of Stockholm Palace, with Wretmarks Foto studio mark on reverse. Exact date and event unconfirmed.
Juan Perón Before the Presidency — Signed Argentine Ministry of War Document, December 1943
An original Argentine Ministry of War directive signed by Colonel Juan Domingo Perón in Buenos Aires on 14 December 1943, with departmental seals, registration marks and contemporary filing endorsements.
A Victorian Woman and Child in Cased Photographs — Ornate Gilt Mats and Embossed Leather Cases, c.1855–1865
Two mid-nineteenth-century cased portraits, one of a woman and the other of a child, with gilt metal mats, red embossed velvet interiors and ornate stamped cases; one sharply legible, the other extensively deteriorated.
A Swedish Life Between the Wars — Original Private Photograph Album
An intact private photographic album recording Swedish life and early aviation. Offered as an archive, not broken into individual photographs.
A Stockport Memorial Portrait — Hulme Studio Mother and Infant, c.1900
Original post-mortem memorial photograph · Stockport, c.1898–1907
Victorian and Edwardian Card-Playing — Goodall’s Bézique Scoring Register
Victorian/Edwardian score register · London
A Dublin Medical Community’s Appeal — Kathleen Bayne’s Letter, 1959
Original letter concerning the Cussen Education Fund · 1959
Inside Edwardian Dublin Medicine — Richard Atkinson Stoney’s Personal Diary, 1904
Original Dublin medical & surgical working diary · 1904
Dublin Theatre in Wartime — The Strings Are False at the Olympia, 1942
Original Olympia Theatre programme · 1942
Florence Austral at Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre — Opera Programme, 1939
Gaiety Theatre programme · Florence Austral · 1939
Dublin’s Short-Lived Torch Theatre — The Face at the Window Programme
Original Torch Theatre programme · Dublin, c.1935
An Irish Family’s Transatlantic Correspondence — New York to Blackrock, 1906–1907
Three New York–Blackrock postcards · 1906–1907
Dublin’s Historic Fine Art Trade — John Dooly & Sons, Dawson Street
Original fine art gallery trade label · Dawson Street, Dublin
School Life in Postwar Dublin — Synge Street Group Photograph, 1946
Original Dublin school group photograph · 1946
W. C. Handy’s Signed Portrait, 1939 — Inscribed to Harold Douglas
Signed Presentation Portrait to Harold Douglas · 1939
Henry Street Before the Easter Rising — A Bobs Studio Portrait
Original photographic portrait · 16 Henry Street · c.1912–1916
Westmoreland Street Photography — Stanley’s Dublin Studio Portrait, c.1910
Original studio portrait · 22 Westmoreland Street · c.1910
Dublin at the Turn of the Century — Lauder Bros. Studio Portrait
Original studio portrait · Westmoreland Street & Lower Sackville Street · c.1900–1910
Victorian Dublin Family Portrait — Lauder Bros. Studio, 1885–1892
Original studio photograph · Lower Sackville Street · c.1885–1892
Early Zionist Publishing in London — Order of Ancient Maccabeans, 1901
Rare early Zionist printed booklet, London, 1901.
Sweeney Todd in 1930s Popular Print — Mellifont’s Illustrated Edition
Mellifont Press historical popular edition in illustrated wrapper.
A Sister’s Birthday Gift, 1860 — Original Victorian Manuscript Album of Faith and Private Devotion
An original manuscript album presented by Louisa to her sister Ellen Theodosia on 30 December 1860. Around 42 handwritten pages of devotional poetry preserve an intimate record of Victorian family and religious life. Names and attribution remain subject to verification.
London, 1892 — A Victorian Property Inheritance Recorded in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Hackney
Original manuscript copyhold admission recording James de la Mare’s inheritance in Homerton, East London, 5 April 1892. A documented survival of London’s manorial property system.
A Garden Postcard to Synolda Cholmondeley Clarke — Shankill, County Dublin
Raphael Tuck Oilette by Flora Pilkington, addressed to Synolda Cholmondeley Clarke at Clifton, Shankill, County Dublin; possible connection to the future Lady Dillon. Original message and postmark.