The 1913 Ulster Proclamation at Bonhams. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: IT MADE £18,750
The only copy of the 1913 Ulster Proclamation of a Provisional Government known to have survived will be offered by Bonhams in London on June 12. Dated 24 September 1913 it takes the form of a poster, printed in blue, declaring the formation of a Provisional government with the proviso that it would not take executive power until needed to resist the formation of a Nationalist government in Dublin.
On the previous day Sir Edward Carson persuaded 500 Ulster Unionist Council delegates to endorse the proclamation. This was a tactic to secure the exclusion of Ulster from the Irish Home Rule Bill which was enacted but set aside for the duration of the First World War. In 1912 nearly 500,000 people signed the Ulster Solemn League and Covenant in opposition to the Home Rule Bill.
Eventually in 1921 the Six Counties was separated from the rest of the island of Ireland by partition. The Ulster Proclamation features at Bonhams sale of books, maps, manuscripts and historical photographs. It is estimated at £20,000-30,000.
UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £18,750.