A first signed limited edition of Ulysses by James Joyce made €18,500 at hammer at the opening day of Fonsie Mealy’s rare book and collectors sale in Dublin today. Published by The Bodley Head in 1936 it was No. 20 in a limited edition of 100 copies in a cover designed by Eric Gill. It had been estimated at €8,000-€12,000. A group of original watercolours of the West Indies c1792 by Sir William Young, inherited by the Day family of Cork and on the market for the first time in 230 years, made a hammer price of €12,000. The auction continues tomorrow.
Won by Limerick Commercials
The first ever All-Ireland Football medal from 1887 made a hammer price of 32,000 on May 31. The medal was won by Jeremiah Kennedy of Limerick Commercials, Limerick, who beat Young Irelands of Louth, on a score line of 1-4 to 0-3. The match was played on a field in Clonskeagh, Dublin known as ‘The Big Bank’ on April 28, 1888. The Limerick team of 1887, were not photographed on the occasion of their win, they received no trophy, and really no recognition until they were issued with this medal in 1910. The Mick Darcy Tipperary and Dublin GAA medal collection made €8,800 and All Ireland hurling final programmes for 1941 and 1944 each made €3,000.