Copy of 1916 Proclamation sells for €100k in Adam's Sale

Judgement Day

The well worn copy of the 1916 Proclamation (below) was the stellar attraction at the “Irish Political, Literary & Military History” Sale conducted by James Adam & Sons at their Dublin salesrooms yesterday, selling for €100,000 – a good €20,000 above its upper pre-sale estimate – with other items relating to 1916 also seeing keen interest. Surprisingly the superb RIC uniforms failed to sell but no doubt they will find their way into various collections in due course.



Catalogue and results here: http://www.adams.ie/BidCat/Catalogues.asp?F1=3072&F2=4169&F4=1054&select=7030&status=A

Don't forget next up is Whyte’s sale of “History, Literature & Collectables” on Saturday 21st April at the Masonic Hall in Dublin’s Molesworth Street. Lots of Titanic memorabilia and also some nice travel posters.

Catalogue here: http://whytes.ie/i8.asp?Auction=20120421&Lot=1



And Mealy's (Castlecomer) two-sale at the Berkeley Court Hotel in Ballsbridge on the 24th/25th April. The sales, each with their own catalogue, are billed as “A Gentleman’s Library” and “Ireland’s Struggle”. Again superlatives fail when it comes to describing the lots on offer – “A Gentleman’s Library” contains a huge range of rare books, maps, manuscripts – many of the usual, sought after suspects are here, such as Taylor & Skinner’s Road Maps of Ireland from 1778 and Flora Mitchel’s “Vanishing Dublin”, as well as many other outstanding items. “Ireland’s Struggle”, as the name suggests, concentrates on material relating to Ireland’s fight for freedom from the British Empire and contains all sorts of books, medals, flags, militaria – among which surely one of the most poignant items is a fairly moth eaten ticket from the “Bloody Sunday” GAA match at Croke Park on November 21st, 1920 (pictured below) which carries a modest estimate of €1,500 – €2,000.



Catalogues here: http://www.mealys.com/rarebooks/

And if you have anything left over after all that stick it on a Yes vote in the EU Treaty Referendum - 1/3 with PP.

Morlar

I was sitting beside the guy who was doing the bidding on the proclamation. I videod the final minutes of the sale on my phone but somehow only managed to capture the final applause after the hammer fell !

http://www.war-talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=250

The RIC uniforms did sell btw, but for less than reserve :

Lot 598 =1400
Lot 598A=1500
Lot 599=7k

There are some photos of them here if anyone is interested :

http://www.war-talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=247

Judgement Day

Morlar - thanks for posting those pics, links etc. Do you know if the uniforms went to private buyers or a museum? Such a shame if they were to disappear from public view again.

Morlar

Judgement Day wrote: »

Morlar - thanks for posting those pics, links etc. Do you know if the uniforms went to private buyers or a museum? Such a shame if they were to disappear from public view again.

There seemed to be one particular phone bidder who bought a lot of stuff & I think he may have gotten them. Can't say if foreign or not. If I had to guess I'd say a UK buyer but you never know. I agree they definitely belong in an Irish museum.

Blade

So wotcha buy Morlar, gowan tell us!

Morlar

Blade wrote: »

So wotcha buy Morlar, gowan tell us!

I went there for Lot 618.

It had a deceptive (imo) catalogue description, but I had a good look through it during the viewing days.

It was an archive of documents, membership books and various assorted ephemera including photographs postcards correspondence and so on with a start price of 400EUR I went up to 750 and I decided to be sensible and cut if at that. It sold for 770 EUR. I spoke to the person who bought it later and they mentioned in passing how much they would make by splitting the items up and selling separately.

It's a shame, I really would have photographed and documented and researched that lot and put it all online just like I did with the Vinny Byrne archive :

http://www.militaria-archive.com/independence/vinny-byrne.html

So that historians, researchers and those with an interest in these organisations throughout this period would be able to share and learn from it.

Unfortunately it looks like it will now be broken into bits and pieces to maximise profit.

618 Commdt. Joe Reynolds, formerly of Fianna Eireann.
An interesting collection of letters, photographs, pamphlets, cards and invitations and similar material, relating mainly to
his association with Fianna Eireann and various veterans’ and commemorative bodies, including
- Liam Mellows. A typescript (carbon copy) account of his life and work for Ireland, 8 pp, unsigned, probably by Joe
Reynolds, with a 4 pp pamphlet on Mellowes published by Cumann na mBan 1929, also a similar quarto pamphlet published
1933 (with annotations in pencil), and some leaflets relating to the Mellows Memorial Committee;
- A selection of Republican postcards and photographs, including Liam Mellows, John McBride and Michael Mallin; a
memorial card for Mrs. Sarah Mellows (mother of Liam and Barney, 1952;
- a collection of various membership cards, including Old Fianna, Old IRA and similar, some with Joe Reynolds’ name,
others blank;
- Cearbhall O Dalaigh, later President of Ireland. A memorial card for his mother Mrs. Una O’Daly, inscribed and signed
rear;
- Joe Reynolds’ military service pension adjudication with his service record, issued 1941;
- A good ALS to Reynolds from Mountjoy Prison, 6.8.40, from his friend Dan Conroy (awaiting trial), enquiring about
mutual friends etc., with censor’s initials;
- a large collection of printed invitations to various functions, mainly relating to the Old Fianna, 1916-21 Club and similar,
some scarce items, including invitation to hear the Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr. Mannix, in Dublin 1925;
- A folder containing a quantity of pamphlets and leaflets relating to the Old I.R.A., Fianna Eireann, Córas na Poblachta
[1940], and various commemorations with which Reynolds was associated, including some scarce items;
- A folder containing a small collection of illuminated addresses; a scrapbook containing mainly loose cuttings of Irish
historical interest; and a folder of Irish Press shareholders’ documents;
- two folders containing a large collection of mostly mounted photographs, mostly of Republican veterans’ groups over the
years, with some of military funerals, etc., also some loose photographs, including a few late photos of De Valera; also a
few probably relating to functions at the Irish Press (where Joe Reynolds was employed).
NOTE: Although these photographs are uncaptioned, almost all are Irish Press photos, and it is likely that many of them
could be identified by comparison with a file of Irish Press publications, 1930s-60s.
Provenance: Commdt. Joe Reynolds (Seosamh Mac Raghnaill), formerly of Fianna Eireann, an active member of Fianna
and Old IRA veterans’ groups, and of the Fianna Advisory Board set up in relation to the Military Service Pensions Act
of 1934.
€400 - 600

During the day I picked up just one small lot - lot 329

Co. Donegal Oglaigh na h'Eireann: Northern Division Brigade Headquarters, No. 3 Brigade, Glenties Barracks. A typed requests for a travel voucher, dated 24th Feb., 1923, for 1 man to travel for Glenties to Stranolar, on headed paper, signed James Gilmartin for Captain, single sheet, with other m/ss additions.
Together with another, same date, signed by Capt. R. Dochartaigh. Scarce documents. (2) 0

http://www.adams.ie/BidCat/detail.asp?SaleRef=7030&LotRef=329

This was 90EUR so worked out at EUR 112.00 with comission. The same lot was in the Adams 2007 auction and went for 300 (=360EUR)

http://www.adams.ie/bidcat/detail.asp?SaleRef=7019&LotRef=567

that time. Civil war era paperwork is nice to have and hopefully I will at some point find out more about the personnel involved.

Blade

Ah Jaysus, sorry to hear you missed out on that lot, so close but then again you wouldn't know how far that buyer was willing to go

molders

I bought the lot that Morlar mentioned in Adams; lot 618 and just to set the record straight, the core Joe Reynolds archive will be kept together. I have several such archives from War of Independence veterans and this one will be added to that collection. That said there are lots of duplicate items in the collection that I may dispose of in time (this hobby isn't self financing unfortunetly), items such as political pamphlets, identical photographs and blank Fianna Eireann letter headed paper etc. but the core archive will retain at least one example of everything and will be documented and housed in acid/solvent free holders.
We did speak about prices etc after the auction but it was my intention to show how I thought that the lot had been under valued or over looked by the auctioneers and I apologise if I came across as some kind of carpet bagger. I made reference to there being approx. 70 10x8 photos in the archive and even at a nominal value of €10 each that was nearly the price of the entire lot.
If Morlar would like to view the archive when I've finished documenting it he is more then welcome!!