The Moore St. Flag of Truce at Fonsie Mealy’s sale.
In this age of digital and AI it is good to see the enduring popularity of rare book and collectors sales. All sorts of interesting lots come under the hammer. Fonsie Mealy’s three day sale in Castlecomer on June 23, 24 and 25 is headed by the Moore St. flag of truce, the white linen handkerchief which indicated the Volunteers wished to surrender their final position during the Easter Rising on April 29, 1916. Singularities like this do not come cheap and this one is estimated at €10,000-€15,000.
With more than 1,250 lots on offer there is much to choose from, including sporting memorabilia, historical and political items and literature including the first edition in English of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and a scarce 1823 edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Viewing gets underway in Castlecomer on June 19.
In Birr the book auction with more than 600 lots at Purcell Auctioneers on June 17 offers eight folio volumes from the 1871 census arranged by province and county (€600-€800), four folio volumes from the 1881 census with more than 4,000 pages of statistical information and a first edition of Dancing at Lughnasa signed by Brian Friel (€300-€500). At Purcell’s sale in May a 15th century medieval legal manuscript in middle French from the library of Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872) made €36,000 at hammer.
The programme for the 1914 All Ireland Football Final refereed by the patriot and revolutionary Harry Boland at Fonsie Mealy.