Dublin: Royal Irish Academy: 2015. First edition in original black and white illustrated boards, covered in a cream and black illustrated dust wrapper. 23.5 cm x 19 cm 42 biographies of men and women who played important roles in the Easter Rising of 1916. The biographies are from the Irish Dictionary of Irish Biography. The profiles describe 31 men and women who were Republican revolutionaries, 3 nationalist leaders who opposed the Easter Rising, as well as 6 men who were part of the regime opposed by the Easter Rising. There are also profiles of two historians of the Rising who were eyewitnesses. An introduction offers an overview of 20th century Irish political history, while an after word looks at the post-Rising lives of some of those profiled. The book is illustrated with full-page, b&w scraperboard engravings, some in two-page spreads. All 42 of the illustrations are by artist David Rooney. xvi, 1-367 pp

Nottingham: Stafford & Netherfield, 1904. An attractive Edwardian Theatre programme.
The play was written by George Dance, and had music by Howard Talbot.
A "teaser piece" the programme has 12 panels showing humorous scenes from the play. The final (13th) panel tells the reader, that they must come to the theatre if they wish to know how the play ends.
The play appeared at the Theatre Royal, in Bath, UK. From October 3rd 1904 for 6 days. There is a variation of this, where the Theatre Royal dates are over-printed to the sheet. This copy does not have these.
There is a crease to the whole where the programme has been folded in half. A little bumping to the edges otherwise. Slight darkening. But overall in excellent condition.
1 sheet folded into 2 leaves / 4 pages. Folded 24.5 cm x 19 cm

1903. Four documents concerned with the Paddington Estate in West London. The monks of Westminster had land in Paddington from the 11th Century. After the Reformation, these rested with the Bishop of London. From the late 19th Century, these were gradually sold of through holding companies, the last being sold in the 1980's. These documents comprise: July 1903 - A counterpart licence for 14 Cleveland Square with permissions to renovations and changes to the property. 4 pages. April 1913 - A counterpart licence to add a garage for private motor cars to 7 Chilworth Mews. 3 pages and a large drawn handcoloured architectural plan of the front of the building and ground floor (on glassine). July 1926 - A licence and deed of covenant to turn 40 Cleveland Square into 3 maisonettes. 12 pages. plus a large folding architectural plan of the proposed changes, with seals and tagged seal. February 1929 - A lease from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to A. H. Heath for a lease on 110 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington. 6 pages and glassine coloured plan of property. A nice bundle of London related legal documents.

1807. At the foot is written 'we three, fools be.' The character on the left seems to have a jester's hat on.
On May 13th, 1807, William Wilberforce, Lord Milton, the Hon. Henry Lascelles (afterwards Earl of Harewood), and Mr. Walter Fawkes were nominated as parliamentary candidates in the Castle-Yard at York. This was the first contested election in the seat for 66 years. The struggle was also memorable on account of the vast expense that Lascelles incurred.
William Wilberforce, whose party almost entirely lacked organization, was head of the poll. There were concerns that Wilberforce allied himself with a candidate whose wealth was based on the slave trade, and he was forced to write to the electors to explain himself. Perhaps it is Lascelles and Wilberforce who are mocked as the electors here.
The caricature has been drawn onto the reverse of a scarce caricature engraving, of "Mr Riley in Solomon". This is most probably Samuel William Ryley (1759-1837), actor, and author of The Itinerant, or Memoirs of an Actor, 1808. 208mm x 248mm. Wilberforce, William (1759–1833), politician, philanthropist, and slavery abolitionist. Following the abolition of the slave trade, the Tories called an election. for the first and only time in his career he faced a poll for Yorkshire. Confronting as he did the great wealth and influence of both the Fitzwilliam and the Harewood interests, it was a testimony to the personal esteem in which he was held, and to his effectiveness in representing the county over the previous quarter-century, that he was returned at the head of the poll. It was alleged, however, that Wilberforce had compromised his independence by a coalition with Henry Lascelles, the Tory candidate. Wilberforce denied the charge and defended himself in a published letter to the electors.
He acknowledged that some of his supporters had indeed also solicited votes for Lascelles, but this was without his sanction, and it would have been improper for him to constrain their actions.
Lascelles, Henry, second earl of Harewood (1767–1841), Politician. His family wealth came from the slave trade in Barbados. After being elected twice as MP for Yorkshire, he stood again in 1807 - Lascelles, who was opposed by clothiers threatened by the removal of protection for their trade, and subjected to polemic about his family's slavery interests, was beaten by Lord Milton.
Ryley [formerly Romney], Samuel William (1759–1837), Actor and author.
Educated in Kensington & Fulham, although apprenticed to the woollen trade in Yorkshire, he eloped with his master's daughter and the married at Gretna Green. He was a jobbing actor, who later won a little more fame with his autobiography. "Ryley's life exhibits, with painful clarity, the precarious existence of the supporting actor of his day—snatching, at one moment, at dreams of fame and, at the next, facing the reality of poor shelter and meagre rations" (ODNB). This caricature seems true to life, as he was described as being very thin.

Leiden & Rotterdam: Hakkens, 1669. Contemporary vellum with handwritten title to spine. Engraved title page. Owner's name to the front end paper. A much enlarged edition of a famous argument for commercial and industrial freedom originally published in 1662 (and reissued several times after) as a small volume with the title 'Interest van Holland'. "The only Dutch best selling economics book" if such a thing is possible! "The True interest and political maxims of the Republick of Holland" (the title of the English edition) expresses much of the ideological background of the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century. Wildenberg 1111. Knuttel, Verboden boeken' 4. Carpenter, The economic bestsellers before 1850' 6. Goldsmiths'-Kress 01895.1 Vellum boards are in good, clean condition. slight cracking to binding at the title page, but not significant. Quite a few lines have been underlined at some point (not contemporary but not recently). [XLIV], 523, [1 errata] pp. 210 by 160mm (8¼ by 6¼ inches).

Paris: Libraire Decrocq, 1869. Original red and black decorated boards with gilt titles. New spine and titles. New end papers. Three parts in one. Unpaginated. Three volumes bound together. Seventy-two coloured lithograph plates - each part with twenty-four plates. Separate title page for each part. Each page is an A-Z, with text in French and a full page chromo-lithograph illustration. The boards and spine are in excellent condition. Internally generally clean and tidy, with a little darkening. Former owner's signatures and a little spotting to the first title page. Overall a very attractive copy. The author states that the alphabetic form which he has adopted has a twofold aim: 1. To facilitate the child's study of the horse, because the dictionary form is more favourable for those whose attention span is quickly tired, or those who can only study at intervals. 2. To offer to the amateur an explanatory lexicon of the usual words used by the horseman. Three parts in one volume, each in the form of an ABC. The first devoted to 'Dresses and brands', the second to 'conformations, flaws, and injuries', and the the third on 'The races'. 250 by 180mm (9¾ by 7 inches). Plats d'origine décorés en rouge et noir avec titres dorés. Nouveau dos et titres. Nouveaux papiers de fin. Trois parties en une. Non paginé. Trois volumes reliés ensemble. Soixante-douze planches de lithographie en couleurs - chaque partie avec vingt-quatre planches. Page de titre séparée pour chaque partie. Chaque page est un A-Z, avec du texte en français et une illustration chromo-lithographique pleine page. Les plats et le dos sont en excellent état. Intérieur généralement propre et bien rangé, avec un peu de noircissement. Signatures de l'ancien propriétaire et petites taches sur la première page de titre. Dans l'ensemble, un exemplaire très attrayant. L'auteur précise que la forme alphabétique qu'il a adoptée a un double objectif : 1. Faciliter l'étude du cheval par l'enfant, car la forme dictionnaire est plus favorable à ceux dont la capacité d'attention est vite fatiguée, ou à ceux qui ne peuvent étudier qu'à intervalles. 2. Offrir à l'amateur un lexique explicatif des mots usuels utilisés par le cavalier. Trois parties en un volume, chacune sous la forme d'un ABC. La première consacrée aux « Robes et marques », la seconde aux « conformations, défauts et blessures », et la troisième à « Les courses ». 250 par 180 mm