A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce from the first English edition published by The Egoist in 1916 leads Fonsie Mealy’s online rare book and collectors sale. The first English edition, one of only 750 copies of Joyce’s first novel, is estimated at €1,500-2,000. The online timed sale opens today and runs until March 1. The catalogue is online and there will be viewing in Castlecomer on February 27 and 28. The selection on offer ranges from Brian Merriman to Edna O’Brien, Seamus Heaney to Liam O’Flaherty, Anthony Trollope to John McGahern.
There is an album and record sleeve signed by Jimi Hendrix, a complete set of Georgian Society records, a set of 18th century Georgian Society architectural records and a Brazil jersey signed by Pele among the 945 lots.
This stylish pair of early 19th century heavy gates will come up as lot 469 at Fonsie Mealy’s Making Room spring sale in Castlecomer and online on February 15. Originally at Tudenham Park, Mullingar, they are estimated at €2,000-3,000. Viewing for this sale gets underway on February 13 and the catalogue is online. Most lots, from antique furniture, mirrors, lanterns, knife boxes, clocks, chairs, peat buckets and collectibles, are to be sold without reserves.
A late 18th century oak and mahogany banded mule chest. UPDATE: THIS MADE 280 AT HAMMER
An unlikely to be repeated ever opportunity to unleash the mule and sit on Cromwell arises at at Fonsie Mealy’s Making Room spring sale on February 15. The late 18th century oak and mahogany banded specimen at the sale in Castlecomer has everything you would want in a mule chest. This character full lot comes with a hinged top above one long and two short drawers and two mock drawers. In the 17th century mule chests were used to store clothes, linens, wools and valuables. They always came with a key. This one is estimated at €400-€600.
The 468 lots on offer at affordable estimates range from heavy cast gates originally at Tudenham Park, Mullingar to artworks, rugs, tables, sideboards, display cabinets, longcase clocks, collectibles and chairs. Among these is a set of 12 sturdy 19th century Cromwellian style chairs with crested carved tops and cream hide seats. The style was popular during the Puritan period. Whether such chairs are favoured in Ireland today remains to be seen. The catalogue is online.
Three from a set of 12 Cromwellian style chairs UPDATE: THESE MADE 1,080 AT HAMMER
This original copy of the Irish Proclamation made €170,000 at hammer.
An original copy of the Irish Proclamation made a hammer price of €170,000 at Fonsie Mealy’s Christmas rare books and collectors sale in Dublin today. It was printed at Liberty Hall, Dublin, under the protection of soldiers of the Irish Citizen Army, on Easter Sunday, 1916. A first edition of Ulysses by James Joyce, number 149 of 1000 copies published by Shakespeare and Co,. in Paris in 1922, made €16,000. A 1936 copy of the first UK edition signed by Joyce made €9,500; The Mime of Mick, Nick and the Maggies, a fragment of a work in progress (i.e. Finnegan’s Wake) signed by James and Lucia Joyce made €11,000; a 1934 letter from James Joyce to Thomas Pugh seeking photographs of scenes mentioned in Ulysses for his American publisher made €16,000. In this letter Joyce asks if Pugh knows of any illustrated weekly published in Dublin around 1904, for the use of the French painter Henri Matisse, who is working on designs for a new edition-de-luxe of Ulysses. An illustrated copy of Ulysses signed by both James Joyce and Henri Matisse made €9,000 and a signed limited edition of Finnegan’s Wake made €3,600.
A folio of ten large watercolours of Ireland’s geological landscape by George Victor du Noyer made €16,000. A file of 1901-03 unpublished letters relating to the Irish theatre by Frank Fay made €11,000, An argument on behalf of the Catholics of Ireland signed by Wolfe Tone made €10,000, The Aran Islands by Synge with drawings by Yeats and signed by both made €9,000, a facsimile of The Lindisfarne Gospels made €6,600 and a facsimile of The Book of Kells made €5,000. A Little Fleet by Jack B Yeats made €6,200, a collection of Broadsides by Jack B Yeats and others made €5,100, a first edition of At Swim Two Birds with an inscription by Flann O’Brien made €5,400, a 1958 self published Recent Poems by Patrick Kavanagh made €3,800 and a complete set of Kavanagh’s Weekly signed by Kavanagh made €3,600. A rare Irish trial piece 20p coin made €4,000, the accounts by Michael Collins for the Treaty Negotiations made €3,200, a heavy blackthorn shillelagh by tradition belonging to Michael Collins made €4,000 and a collection of Beatles signatures made €3,000.
Adare Manor replica of the Shrine of St. Manchan. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
With an original copy of the Irish Constitution, a first edition of Ulysses in the centenary year of its publication, the pocket seal of Michael Collins engraved with his initials, facsimiles of The Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels, a collection of Beatles signatures, an album signed by Jimi Hendrix and Cork’s first All-Ireland Football gold medal from 1894 there is little not to like about Fonsie Mealy’s Christmas Rare Books and Collectors sale.
Michael Collins’ pocket seal with the initials M.C. in reverse. UPDATE: THIS MADE €4,800 AT HAMMER
“Here be Treasure” is what they used to write on the old pirates maps and “X marks the Spot”. In this auction there is a respectable quota of 1,156 x’s. That is the number of lots due to come under the hammer over two days of sales ON December 6 and 7 at the Talbot Hotel in Dublin. With estimates of €20-€30 euro (for a match programme and scarf from Ireland’s first win over New Zealand in Dublin in 2018) to €140,000-€180,000 (for the Irish Constitution) there is material in this sale to cater for many interests across all price ranges. A life sized replica of the shrine of St. Manchan in wood, plaster of Paris and gilding, commissioned by Sir William Wilde (Oscar’s dad) and presented to the 3rd Earl of Dunraven, conveys the magnificence of one of the finest examples of 12th century metalwork to have survived in Ireland at Boher in Co. Offaly. The replica, displayed at Adare Manor for over a century and included in the contents sale there in 1982, is estimated at €20,000-€30,000.
Among the highlights is a collection of gold and silver medals awarded to John Enright of Limerick including the World Fly Fishing Tournament at Wimbledon in 1896, an archive of documents relating to Hugh Kennedy (1879-1936), first Attorney General and Chief Justice of the Irish Free State, An Argument on behalf of the Catholics of Ireland, 1791 signed by Wolfe Tone and the controversial Cork All-Ireland football gold medal of 1894 featured on these pages last Saturday. The Michael Collins memorabilia includes a copy of the London accounts for the Treaty negotiations, his shillelagh and his pocket seal. There is an intriguing note with an almost certain intelligence connection seeking “any particulars”.
A signed album cover for Axis: Bold as Love by Jimi Hendrix. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
There will be competition for a collection of album covers with signatures by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul and Linda McCartney as well as the album Axis: Bold as Love signed by Jimi Hendrix (who would have been 80 this week).A folio of ten large watercolour drawings of Ireland’s geological landscape by George Victor du Noyer (€4,000-€5,000) is another rarity. There is no shortage of signed first editions of books of poetry, literature and popular fiction, medals, coins, banknotes, historic match programmes, cinema posters, soldiers letters and even a boxing glove signed by Joe Frazier and George Foreman. The catalogue is online.
An extremely scarce medal from Cork’s first Football All-Ireland in 1894 comes up at Fonsie Mealy’s rare books and collectibles sale in Dublin on December 6 and 7. The seventh All-Ireland final was mired in controversy. The first game was a draw, there was a re-match where, with seven minutes remaining and Cork leading Dublin by 1-02 to 0-5, several Dublin players were attacked by Cork supporters. Dublin refused to play on and was awarded the championship by the GAA Central Council. Cork County Board never accepted this finding.
Four months later a ceremony was held to award gold medals to the victorious Cork players from Nil Desperandum FC which had been founded mostly as a rugby club and where members started playing Gaelic Football in 1888. The 9 carat gold medal bears the Cork Coat of Arms and the Provincial Coats of Arms and is inscribed: GAA All-Ireland Football Championship, won by Nils, 1894″. It is estimated at €7,000-€9,000. The medal is by direct family descent from Jack O’Sullivan of Nil Desperandum. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Sean Keating (1889-1977) – Man and Woman collecting Seaweed, Aran Islands. UPDATE: THIS MADE 30,000 AT HAMMER
Viewing begins in Castlecomer today for Fonsie Mealy’s Important Irish and International art sale on November 16. There are 417 lots on offer including works by Jack B Yeats, Sean Keating, Michael O Nuallain, William Sadler, Augustus Burke, Maurice MacGonigal, Evie Hone, John Shinnors, Pauline Bewick and John Behan. The catalogue is online.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for November 6 and October 25, 2022)
The Ballad Singers’ Children by Jack B. Yeats UPDATE: THIS MADE 16,000 AT HAMMER
Among the highlights of a sale with something for everyone by Fonsie Mealy in Castlesomer on November 16 is an artwork by Jack B Yeats which focuses the mind on people with little or nothing. The Ballad Singers’ Children depicts the children of an itinerant singer left to fend for themselves in a makeshift tent while their parent tries to make a living at a race meeting nearby. A barefoot girl, the eldest of the three, looks out at a torrential downpour from a shelter made of tarpaulin spread over branches. The oil on board of a not untypical scene from the west of Ireland in the opening years of the 20th century speaks to our 21st century world with its growing numbers of dispossessed refugees. In this poignant work Yeats sides with the poor and the oppressed. It was exhibited in Dublin in 1902 and at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool in 1903. Acquired in that year by his patron the New York lawyer John Quinn it is now estimated at €10,000-€15,000.
The west of Ireland features in a trio of Aran Island works by Sean Keating. From a private institutional collection they are on the market for the first time. Waiting for the Steamer, Aran Islands is estimated at €50,000-€70,000, Man and Woman collecting Seaweed is estimated at €30,000-€40,000 and Village on the Aran Islands is estimated at €15,000-€20,000, Milking the cows by Maurice MacGonigal dates to around 1934 and is estimated at €7,000-€9,000. An 1880’s portrait of the artist Walter Osborne, who died of pneumonia aged just 43, by his friend and fellow artist August Burke is estimated at €5,000-€7,000. Eruption of Mount Vesuvius by William Sadler c1825 is estimated at €4,000-€6,000.
Lovers, an Aubusson tapestry by the late Pauline Bewick shows a couple locked in a passionate embrace on a seashore beneath the stars with a lighthouse in the background. In a catalogue note Dr. Peter Murray describes it as one of her finest works which sums up her affirmation of life and love. Composition by Evie Hone dates to 1925 and is estimated at €4,000-€6,000. There is more than 400 lots including prints, drawings, sketches, watercolours, oils and sculpture including work by John Behan, Edward Delaney and Brid Ni Rinn. Collectibles include a limited edition of Ulysses by James Joyce signed by Henri Matisse, Sumo by Helmut Newton and The Tain illustrated by Louis le Brocquy. A selection of wines and whiskies includes some rare Midletons.
Lovers, an Aubusson tapestry by Pauline Bewick. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
Vortex Vessell – Orange/Red by Grainne Watts at Morgan O’Driscoll. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200 AT HAMMER
An arresting double walled thrown porcelain bowl with velvet underglaze by Grainne Watts sits comfortably among the sculptures at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International art sale. Titled Vortex Vessel – Orange/Red it is by an artist who has undertaken a number of public commissions. Work by Watts is represented in the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland collection and at the OPW. With highlights by Paul Henry and Jack B. Yeats the sale, which runs until November 1 is on view at the RDS in Dublin this Bank Holiday weekend. The catalogue is online.
A lost piece of Cork industrial history features at Fonsie Mealy’s Irish and International art sale at Castlecomer next November 16. A c1810 watercolour of a watermill attributed to Henry Brocas senior has been identified as likely to be the five storey mill that once stood in the village of Blarney beside the River Martin. The flax mill, owned by James B. O’Sullivan, flourished for several decades. Little remains of it today as it was demolished to make way for the Blarney Woollen Mills. Among more than 400 lots in the upcoming sale is a design by Daniel MacLise for a Cork Art Exhibition Medal in 1852.
Watermill thought to be O’Sullivan’s Mill at Blarney attributed to Henry Brocas at Fonsie Mealy
Portrait of Walter Osborne – Augustus Burke RHA (1838-1891). UPDATE; THIS WAS UNSOLD
Meet Walter Osborne. We are more accustomed to seeing the artists work than the artist himself. This oil on canvas head and shoulders portrait by his friend Augustus Burke comes up at Fonsie Mealy’s Irish and International art sale in Castlecomer on November 16. It most likely dates from the late 1880’s. George Osborne was born in 1859 and died of pneumonia aged 43. Augustus Burke served professor of painting at the Royal Hibernian Academy before moving permanently to England.
