15 December 2015 - Rare Book Sale

#0237

Lot 564/0237

Hand Coloured Greeting Cards

Cuala Press: A delightful and rare collection of approx. 66 original Cuala Press printed Greeting & other Cards, mostly hand coloured, after various Irish poets, writers & artists, a few bl. & white, all in fine conditions, contained in two folders. Some very rare items. As a coll., w.a.f. (1)

Lot 564A/0237

Hand Coloured Broadsides & other Publications

Cuala Press: An interesting collection of scarce Cuala Press publications, including some original First Series & New Series, Broadsides, hand coloured prints, calendar, cards, etc., and including a mint copy of “St. Patricks Breast Plate,” a folded sheet with wd.-cut portrait & decoration ex. rare, approx. over 20 items, some v. scarce. As a lot, w.a.f. (1)

Lot 565/0237

The First Cuala Broadsides

JACK B. YEATS. A Broadside, complete.
The full set of 84 monthly issues, June 1908 to May 1915, Vol. 1 no. 1 to Vol. 7 no. 12. Dun Emer (first issue only) & Cuala Press (the remainder). Each issue limited to 300 copies. A very good clean set with fine fresh colouring, in two original portfolios, housed in a custom made morocco backed folding box.

Each monthly issue consists of a single folded sheet, giving four pages foolscap. Pages one and two include original poetry and ballads, illustrated by two or three hand coloured drawings by Yeats. The third page is given to a single large drawing, usually uncoloured. These include some very fine and ambitious drawings, some of London scenes, some of ‘Life in the West of Ireland’. The rear page is always blank.
Yeats made all the drawings himself, and edited the verse, with contributions from friends including Ernest Rhys, John Masefield, Lady Gregory, Douglas Hyde and James Stephens. The plates were printed at Cuala and were hand coloured under the supervision of Elizabeth Corbet Yeats.

Artistically it is a unique enterprise. The full set includes over 200 drawings by Jack Yeats, most of them hand coloured. The series gives a remarkable insight into his ideas and interests, featuring many themes echoed or developed in his oil paintings. A few of the drawings were issued as Cuala prints, but the vast majority have never been reproduced. For anyone interested in Jack Yeats and his work, a set of Broadsides is a very desirable acquisition.
Full sets in original condition are rare. (1)

Lot 566/0237

David Clarke, 1920 – 2005

Irish Tourist Poster: “Come to Ireland,” a fine original watercolour for Irish Tourist Board Poster, approx. 102cms x 64cms (40″ x 25″) approx., rolled. (1)

* The artist David Clarke was the son of Harry Clarke, famous stain glass artist & book illustrator.

Lot 567/0237

THE STAINED GLASS DESIGNS OF
RICHARD J. KING (1907-74)

Born in Castlebar, where his father was an RIC Sergeant, King’s family moved to Westport in 1922 and to Dublin in 1926, where King entered the Metropolitan School of Art. He had always been good with his hands, and made a violin as a young man. He studied illustration and design under Austin Molloy, a friend of the stained glass artist Harry Clarke, and on Molloy’s recommendation he went to work at the Clarke family firm in 1928. Harry Clarke died in 1931, and in 1935 King became manager of the Clarke studios. He left in 1940 to set up on his own, working both in stained glass and in graphic design. He executed a series of high-profile stamp designs for the Irish Post Office, including the GAA and the Four Masters stamp of 1944. He supplied regular colour designs to the Capuchin Annual, where he joined the staff in 1940, while continuing to work extensively in stained-glass design. His windows are in churches and public buildings throughout the world, including Boston College, Massachusetts, St Thomas More Jesuit Chapel, University of West Australia (where there are twenty-one windows, including Stations of the Cross), and St. Columba’s College, South Perth, Australia. Windows in Ireland include Walkinstown (Dublin); Nazareth Home, Malahide Rd.; Cork, Swinford, Maynooth, Kilkenny, Galway, etc., see a full listing in Snoddy’s Dictionary. See also the very rare booklet, ‘Windows Into Heaven’ by Mons. John T. McMahon of Western Australia, who commissioned important works from King.
The following drawings (Lots 567 – 573) are from the family collections, passed down by descent.


KING, Richard J. HAIL, QUEEN OF HEAVEN. Full size original coloured drawing (or cartoon) for a stained glass window, gouache on paper, SIGNED and dated 1950 in the design, approx 105 ins x 21 ins, the colouring fresh and unfaded. Lower panel shows the angel appearing to Mary. A fine example of the artist’s work. This and the following three items are the original drawings for the windows at St. Columba’s Church, South Perth, Australia. Illus. MacMahon opp. p. 31. (1)

Lot 568/0237

KING, Richard J. THE HOLY FAMILY, St. Joseph with Mary and the child Jesus. Full size original coloured drawing (or cartoon) for a stained glass window, gouache on paper, approx 105 ins x 21 ins, the colouring fresh and unfaded. Lower panel shows St. Joseph leading Mary on the donkey. Illus. MacMahon opp. p. 31. (1)

Lot 569/0237

KING, Richard J. THE CHILD OF PRAGUE. Full size original coloured drawing (or cartoon) for a stained glass window, gouache on paper, minor repairs, approx 105 ins x 21 ins, the colouring fresh and unfaded. Illus. MacMahon opp. p. 33. (1)

Lot 570/0237

KING, Richard J. ST. ANNE with the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. Full size original coloured drawing (or cartoon) for a stained glass window, gouache on paper, SIGNED, approx 105 ins x 21 ins, the colouring fresh and unfaded. Lower panel shows the child Mary leaving her parents to dedicate her virginity to the Lord.
Illus. MacMahon opp. p. 33. (1)

Lot 571/0237

KING, Richard J. GOD THE FATHER. Original coloured drawing (or cartoon) for a stained glass window, gouache on paper, 22 ins x 12 ins, arched, the colouring fresh and unfaded. Shows the Lord over the head of Jesus, with figures symbolising the holy virtues of wisdom, piety, fortitude etc. (1)

Lot 572/0237

Delightful Christmas Scene by Richard King

Watercolour: A large and very fine watercolour of “The Nativity,” depicting Our Lord in the Manger with Our Lady & St. Joseph praying over Him, with two angels either side, approx. 44.5cms x 59.5cms (17 1/2″ x 23 1/2″) signed lower rt hand corner, mounted on board, unframed. (1)

Lot 573/0237

KING, Richard J. THE CHILD OF EIRE. A finely-worked original coloured drawing (or cartoon) for a stained glass window, ink and gouache on paper, 21 ins x 7 ¾ ins, showing the Holy Child over figures of St. Patrick and St. Brigid, above him a torch-bearer (St. John the Baptist?), flanked by panels featuring music, the arts, learning and sports, above a phoenix rising from the flames, a circular device enclosing the name ‘ÉIRE’, the symbols of the four provinces and the words of the Four Masters, ‘Do chum Glóire Dé agus Onóra na hÉireann’, with figures of monks, prelates, Celtic symbols etc., possibly intended for an institution of learning.
An elaborately worked drawing, showing a superb range and orchestration of colours. This fine drawing hung in King’s own home for much of his life. It is unrecorded, and apparently has not been executed in stained glass.

* This work was originally intended for a window at U.C.D., however, the idea was shelved in favour of the Kevin Barry Window, which was commissioned during King’s time as manager of the Harry Clarke Studios. (1)

Lot 574/0237

Augustus John and his Galway Connections

JOHN, Augustus, painter [1878-1961]. An attractive ink drawing of a nude woman, rear view, drying herself with her elbow on a pillar, signed lower right ‘John’, 9 ins x 7 ¼ ins, framed and glazed.
With an autograph signed letter (2 pp, single sheet) from John (giving a Salisbury address, dated ‘Friday’), to a Mr. Conroy, saying he spoke to Mr. McDonough about rooms [in Galway] but has heard nothing, and asking Conroy to make enquiries about the rooms, ‘those behind the new dock .. If I had these rooms and got them simply furnished I would come over to Galway to do some work’. Also mentions Macnamara, presumably Francis, father of Caitlin, who married Dylan Thomas (after having an affair with John).
Also with an autograph signed letter to John, March 1902, 1 pp, addressed from ‘On the Veldt, Western Transvaal’, from Tom McDonagh (probably one of the Galway merchant family). ‘I am now trekking with Keirs Column .. under Walter Kitchener, in all I think we have about 20,000 men & and are in search for Boers .. I expect there will be a hell of a fight soon. I am with the field hospital. I expect this time they will collar De La Rey for we are after him .. Don’t write, we may be away three months.’ The letter in two portions, with tape stains at the separation.
A most interesting collection, which effectively authenticates the drawing. Augustus John did stay in Galway for a time, and produced a major mural painting there; he also stayed at Coole with Robert Gregory. As a collection, w.a.f. (1)

Lot 575/0237

Royal Signatures: Folder containing 7 sheets, each with engraved Royal portrait, & mounted with the original signature of the sitter, including William IV (2); Mary, Duchess of Gloucester; Dukes of Cambridge, Gloucester Sussex, & Earl of Munster, one fac-simile. As a lot, w.a.f. (1)

Lot 576/0237

Military Broadsides: Hon. Artillery Company two single broadsides, printed one side only with coat-of-arms, both signed by Order of the Court by William White, the first Nov. 1795, ‘.. as well grounded Apprehensions are entertained that Attempts may be made on that Day to disturb the public Tranquility…’ The other dated July 10th, 1801, both famed. As ephemera, w.a.f. (2)

Lot 577/0237

The King offers Comfort to
The ‘Jersey Lily’

DE BATHE, Lillie [nee Le Breton, better known as Lillie Langtry]. An original manuscript signed letter, 4 pp (single folded sheet), on mourning paper, from her home in Monaco, dated July 18 (no year), to Mrs Rumley, responding to condolences about the death of her husband, Gerald de Bathe, the letter signed Lillie de Bathe. ‘Indeed the loss to me is very great – We were always such pals & as you say he was a really good & fine man. He did not suffer thank God & had never any idea that he was so ill .. Everyone was very kind. The King sent for me to Buckingham Palace & had a long talk privately with me ..’

Lillie Langtry, the ‘Jersey Lily’, made her entrance to high society through the painter Frank Miles and his friends including Oscar Wilde. At a society dinner, she caught the eye of the Prince of Wales, with whom she had a long affair. A spectacular beauty in her youth, she was painted by many artists including Millet. Hugo de Bathe, a well-to-do baronet, was her second husband, though in later years she lived mainly on her own. (1)

Lot 578/0237

Churchill’s Private Secretary

BRACKEN, Brendan [1901-58]. An important collection of eleven autograph signed letters to his mother, 1920-28, with a further four letters to [his brother?] Paddy, 1928-34, one incomplete letter to his mother, a telegram and some related items, also an attractive photographic portrait (worn) of Bracken’s mother and a Keogh portrait of a child (the young Brendan?).

Born in Templemore, Co.Tipperary, Bracken ran away from the Jesuit College in Mungret, and went to Australia for a time. In 1919 he went to Liverpool as a teacher, and later established himself as a journalist and newspaper proprietor in London. He became a Conservative MP and a supporter and close friend of Winston Churchill. He was Churchill’s parliamentary private secretary 1939-41, Minister for Information 1941-5 and First Lord of the Admiralty 1945, and was arguably the most influential person of Southern Irish birth throughout World War II. He was at various times co-proprietor of The Economist and Chairman of The Financial Times.

The letters give an excellent flavour of his personality, his early struggles and his rapid rise. The first, 20 June 1920, from a Liverpool school, mentions a financial loss and says ‘I have not been able to afford to go to [a doctor], or to even get my glasses changed .. I am in indifferent health and will soon be without a post as I am leaving here at the end of the term .. I do not feel like answering the taunts etc which I have received, & no useful purpose can therefore be served in endeavouring to convince you that I am other than you imagine. I will respect your evident wishes, that you do not desire to have any more to do with me .. [but] Should you desire to keep in touch I will do so .. ‘

Evidently the correspondence continued, because an undated letter (also from Liverpool) says he was very pleased to get her letter. He says he is thinking of going to Edinburgh for the winter session at the University, if he can get some kind of a post, ‘but there are so many hungry Scotchmen that I fear my chances are poor.’

On 15 February 1923, his 22nd birthday, now in London, he writes very warmly. ‘You have had many sorrows & difficulties in life, & for many years you have had to face them alone .. But you’ve surmounted them all, which is the great test of life .. Anything that I am able to do is altogether due to you ..’. A month later, ‘We are deep in an awful fight at Westminster and I think we are going to win .. We are fighting the three great parties .. & only Winston could pull it off. A good deal of attention here is directed to the Irish vote which may pull the fat out of the fire – it will I hope be given in Winston’s favour ..’ [this may relate to a by-election contest].

In August 1923, he is ‘off to Budapest next week .. Business is booming there and I am hoping to be appointed Trade Commissioner for Hungary in London. I will, of course, hold this job with the one I now hold. It ought to be worth a couple of thousand a year — not a bad sum to begin with ..’, and he talks about buying a small country house outside London if it goes ahead.

In November, writing on letterhead of The Illustrated Review, he is just back from Dublin, where he saw Nancy. ‘I was walking back to Yeats’ house [presumably WBY] when I ran in to her.’ A year later, November 1924, ‘I shall never be so happy as I was last week. Dear Winston became chancellor after two years of enforced absence from Parliament.’

Another remarkable letter, March 1925, thanks his mother for her offer of a sum of money, which however he cannot accept because he has no need of money. ‘I am filled with affection and admiration for the remarkable way you battled alone for us after Papa’s death. Your difficulties were immense, but they were less than your courage. The hardest troubles you had to bear came from me, & I am never likely to forget this fact ..’
The telegram, dated 31 May 1929, says simply ‘Won’. This must refer to Bracken’s election to Parliament as MP for North Paddington.

There is a play written by Tom Kilroy titled ‘Double Cross’ one half of which is about Brendan Bracken, the other half is about Lord Haw Haw, two Irishmen, both of whom turned their backs on Ireland.

* This is a highly important correspondence, particularly since Bracken’s personal papers were destroyed (on his instructions) after his death.
As a collection, w.a.f. (1)

Lot 579/0237

Rare Survivors First Hand Account of Dachau Camp

Nazi-Germany: A first hand eyewitness account of Dachau Concentration Camp, in the form of a typescript from an interview conducted by Austrian writer Baron Janke Von Musulin on a Senior Austrian politician Hans Von Becker, who was interviewed in Dachau. It mentions in detail the various groups, and how they were distinguished and divided, ie: Jews, Clergy, Moral Offenders, Anti-Social and others, 4pps., with official contemporary stamp of the Civil Military Censorship (assuring authenticity). A very informative and historical document. (1)

Lot 580/0237

Glasgow University Elects a New Rector, 1890

Balfour (Arthur) Conservative propaganda issued in advance of the rectorial election of 15 November 1890, comprising all five issues of a magazine entitled The College Unionist and leaflets and broadsheets with copies of speeches, newspaper articles. Frequent use is made of cartoons and parodies of well-known ballads.
The Lords Rector of Glasgow University are elected every three years. The election of 1890 was fiercely contested between supporters of the two candidates, the Hon. Arthur Balfour and the Earl of Aberdeen. The propaganda reflects the passion with which the literate public followed political developments at the time. The two candidates were:
Arthur Balfour (1848-1930), a wealthy Scottish landowner and nephew of the Conservative Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury. At the time of the election he was Chief Secretary for Ireland, in which post he even-handedly took firm measures against agrarian unrest and absentee landlords. He was a staunch opponent of Home Rule. In 1902 he succeeded his uncle as Prime Minister.
Lord Aberdeen (1847-1934) was a Liberal and a devoted supporter of Gladstone, under whom he had briefly served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1886 (his second term, from 1905 to 1915, would prove a great deal more memorable).
The Conservative campaign stresses Balfour’s firm hand in Ireland and there is much mockery of the stereotypical Irishman:
My name is Bill O’Brien, from New Tipperary flyin’
The heart of ‘Bloody Balfour’ I’m a thorn in’
But before the break of morn, he’ll be cursin’ all forlorn
For I’m off to Philadelphia in the morning’.

Balfour won. Are university politics so lively these days?!
A fascinating collection of third-level political ephemera, approx. 30 items. As a collection, w.a.f. (1)

Lot 581/0237

Stokes (Margaret) The High Crosses of Castledermot and Durrow, Lg. atlas folio D. 1898. First Edn., 12 full page plts., orig. ptd. wrappers, repaired & in recent cloth. (1)

Lot 582/0237

Todd (Rev. James Henthorn) Descriptive Remarks on Illuminations in Certain Ancient Irish Manuscripts, folio, L. (Nichols & Sons) 1869, 4 litho plates, ptd. wrappers. (1)