Irish Landed Gentry · Rothwell of Rockfield · Political Memoir, 1845
An Irish Landed Gentry Library — Silvio Pellico’s Le mie prigioni, 1845, from Richard Rothwell of Rockfield
Silvio Pellico · with additions by Pietro Maroncelli · London: Dulau & Co., Soho Square · 1845
Catalogue details
Description
A London-printed Italian political memoir with the engraved heraldic bookplate of Richard Rothwell of Rockfield, County Meath, High Sheriff of Meath in 1839. Family papers survive at the National Library of Ireland.
- Dimensions
- Measurements gladly provided on request
- Author
- Silvio Pellico (1789–1854)
- With additions by
- Pietro Maroncelli (1795–1846)
- Title
- Le mie prigioni. Memorie di Silvio Pellico da Saluzzo, con addizioni di Pietro Maroncelli e notizie preliminari intorno all’autore
- Imprint
- London: Dulau & Co., Soho Square, 1845
- Owner
- Richard Rothwell (1799–1853), High Sheriff of Meath (1839)
- Binding
- Period dark-green half leather over richly marbled boards; blind-tooled borders
- Illustrations
- Engraved portrait of Pellico and vignette of Spielberg on title page
- Condition
- Please consult the photographs for condition. Additional photographs are available on request.
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Historical context & sources
A traceable Irish country-house library
The armorial ex libris names Richard Rothwell of Rockfield, County Meath. Rothwell (1799–1853) served as High Sheriff of Meath in 1839 and was associated with Rockfield near Kells. Family records, including an 1816–1818 farm account book and later ledgers, are catalogued by the National Library of Ireland. This copy is presented as a book from his named library, not as a volume authored or inscribed by Rothwell.
A political prisoner’s testimony
First published in 1832, Le mie prigioni recounts Pellico’s imprisonment under Austrian rule, including confinement in Spielberg fortress near Brno. The memoir became a widely read witness to political repression in the age of the Risorgimento. This London edition is printed in Italian and includes additions by Pellico’s fellow prisoner Pietro Maroncelli.
The 1845 London edition
Title page reads “Londra · Dulau e C. Soho Sqe · 1845”. The portrait opposite the title page and a Spielberg vignette are visible. This is not the first edition of Le mie prigioni; the importance of this example lies in its nineteenth-century London imprint and documented Irish provenance.
