Mealy’s (Dublin) July Sale of the Fred Hanna Collection beats all superlatives!

Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers – Fine Art & Rare Book Auctions,

The Old Cinema, Chatsworth Street, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny

www.fonsiemealy.ie

THE FRED HANNA SALE OF IMPORTANT RARE BOOKS, IRISH LITERATURE, MANUSCRIPTS & MAPS

Fred Hanna and his wonderful bookshop on Nassau Street were a Dublin institution, and its passing and that of Fred himself, earlier this year, are deeply regretted. Many of you will want to attend this sale and purchase a copy of the superb catalogue just as a keepsake of the occasion! I could use all the usual cliches to describe this sale but this one will do ‘there’s something for everybody here” and there truly is. Estimates are very reasonable but as there are some seriously rare items here you can expect to pay top dollar – recession or not!

Amongst those items that caught my eye were Lot.74. A signed copy of “The Way that I went” by Robert Lloyd Praeger – Est.€200/€300; the rare Taylor & Skinner “Maps of the Roads of Ireland” pub.1778 and hard to find one that has been broken down by map dealers – Est.€700/€1,000; a signed copy of Flora Mitchell’s “Vanishing Dublin” – another book that dealers break down – Est.€400 -€600; Lot.462. “The Commitments” by Roddy Doyle (1^st edition) – Est.€400/€600; Lot.608. the ultra rare “Migration of Birds as observed at Irish Lighthouses etc.” by RM Barrington – Est.€800/€1,200 – and finally Lot.502. an incredibly rare piece of ephemera – a ticket for Mr.Charles Dickens’s Farewell Readings, Belfast, January 1869 (he died the following June) – Est.€180/250.