BIBLIOTHECA HIBERNICANA, OR A DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF A SELECT IRISH LIBRARY, COLLECTED FOR THE RIGHT HON. ROBERT PEEL. (SIGNED & INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR)
Dublin, Ireland: W. Folds and Son, 1820. First and only Edition, Limited to 50 Copies. Hardcover. (8 1/8" x 5") half-title, [viii],51pp., one of 50 copies printed for private circulation, engraved frontispiece by Martyn, presentation inscription by the author on half-title, original cream printed boards, and grey linen spine in superb original condition.
While in Ireland as chief secretary (1812-18), Sir Robert Peel asked William Shaw Mason, the Irish topographer and statistician to assemble for him ‘a select Irish library’. The result was an outstanding collection of Irish material of which ‘Bibliotheca Hibernicana’ is the catalogue. It lists 125 books (uniformly bound in green morocco) under headings such as Antiquities, History, Topography, Biography, Tourists and Finance, and explains the reason for the selection of each by giving a synopsis of its contents., {hand written index set in back by J. Gamble]
First edition, limited to only fifty copies, of an annotated catalogue of 125 miscellaneous books relating to Ireland printed from 1584 to 1820. Inscribed on half-title by author to Thomas Spring Rice, 1st Baron Monteagle of Brandon (1790-1866). Verso of half-title bears what appears to be the tail end of a schoolchild's notes, the other pages no doubt were dispensable and excised at rebinding.
The compiler (Shaw Mason) states his intention is "to afford general views of the circumstances of the country, without embarrassing the reader with a multiplicity of details; it contains, therefore, the principle writers on the leading subjects and events of the several periods, from the earliest extant to the year 1820, classed under the following heads: -- Antiquities, History, Biography, Topography, Statistical Surveys, Tourists, and Finance.: Mr. Mason further states that the only exception to his (aforestated) principle of selection, was Topography, because it was one of his favorite topics which he deviated by "making this department of the Select Irish Library as complete as materials would allow". Given the inscribee's position as Fellow of the Royal Society, The Geological Society, and Trustee of the National Gallery, and his deep involvment in the Ordnance Survey, the relationship between the author and Lord Monteagle seems a natural fit.
Quite Rare. Very Good. Item #85006
Inscribee Spring Rice was a British Whig politician -- a moderate reformer yet strong unionist -- who once delivered a six-hour speech in the House of Commons on 23 April 1834, suggesting that Ireland should be renamed 'West Britain.' As a member of the House of Commons, Spring Rice also championed causes such as the worldwide abolition of slavery and the introduction of state-supported education. (Wikipedia) Spring Rice later served as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, and soon thereafter, as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1835 to 1839.
Price: $1,500.00