Ireland--Easter Rising

Map of the City of Dublin and Its Environs. Dublin: A Thom & Co., [n.d.], 760 x 835 mm, with a note explaining it was "supplied to H.M. Officers before going into action"; Gross, Alexander. Plan of Dublin. "Geographica" Ltd., [n.d.], red wrappers; bundle of Republican propaganda adhesive envelope labels, tricolour colours with a shamrock and harp, housed in an envelope; Irish Citizen Army ephemera, namely sheets of blank headed stationery, Equipment Fund collection box labels, membership Declarations with the organisation's Constitution, and a Membership Card (1915); Irish Proclamation ("Poblacht Na H Eireann") [Dublin: ?O'Keefe, for Joseph Stanley, 1916]. Handbill (220 x 142mm), THE EXCEPTIONALLY RARE SECOND PRINTING OF THE IRISH PROCLAMATION; [Irish Proclamation ("Poblacht Na H Eireann")], HALF SHEET OF THE ORIGINAL PROCLAMATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC (text from "The Irish Republic..." to "...Joseph Plunkett"), text size 297 x 462 mm, paper size 348 x 515mm, printed in a variety of founts on a single sheet, with an accompanying caption ("...This type was found standing at the Liberty Hall after the Rebels were driven out."), discoloured; [Pearse, Padraig H.] "The Provisional Government to the Citizens of Dublin". [Dublin: O'Keefe for Joseph Stanley, 25 April 1916]. Handbill (220 x 142mm), SECOND MANIFESTO OF THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT; Irish War News. The Irish Republic. Vol. 1 No. 1. Dublin Tuesday, April 25, 1916. 8vo (255 x 190mm), 4 pages on a single sheet, THE ONLY ISSUE PRINTED OF THE REBELS' PROPAGANDA NEWSLETTER; The British Government's Plan for Suppressing the Irish Volunteers. [Dublin: n.p., April 1916] Handbill, 8vo (255 x 170mm), unevenly inked and smudged, with an accompanying note ("Pulled from type found standing at Liberty Hall"); letter signed, to Cooper, asking Lt Brown to be given access to Liberty Hall to remove a crate, headed stationery of the Great Northern Railway Co. (Ireland), Dublin, 8 May 1916; raffle tickets for the Irish Volunteers, to raise money for arms and ammunition, December 1915; Connolly, James. The Re-Conquest of Ireland. Dublin: n.p., 1915. 8vo, first edition, red paper wrappers; the majority of items bound in a near-contemporary album, with other ephemera, newscuttings, and photographic postcards of Dublin after the Rising, with captions by Lt. Cooper's father, half black roan, splitting at spine; some additional items loose in a modern white lever-arch folder 

[with:] Mallet, salvaged from Liberty Hall, treen, 305mm length

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

PRINTED EPHEMERA RELATING TO THE EASTER RISING SALVAGED BY THE BRITISH OFFICER IN COMMAND AT LIBERTY HALL. This group contains the three extremely rare handbills printed for Joseph Stanley during the course of the Rising itself, as well as an example of the "Half Proclamation" of the Irish Republic. It also includes ephemera printed for the Irish Citizen Army, the volunteer militia led by James Connolly which took part in the Rising, and which was headquartered at Liberty Hall. There are also some items which are noted as having been "taken from Rebels" during the Rising, maps given to British officers to navigate the streets of Dublin, and later cuttings and postcards.

The collection was assembled by Donald Keith Cooper, a Second Lt. in the 8th Northants Regiment. He was attached to the 6th Battalion of the 2nd South Staffordshire Regiment when they were suddenly and unexpectedly despatched to Ireland early in the morning of Tuesday 25 April 1916. Within 24 hours Cooper went from training for deployment on the Western Front to fighting in close quarters on the streets of Dublin. As the Battalion battled its way into the city centre over the next few days it was responsible for one of the most notorious actions during the Rising, the massacre of up to fifteen unarmed men on North King Street during the night of Friday 28 April.

Liberty Hall was not only the Headquarters of the ICA, it was also where the Irish Proclamation had been printed at the beginning of the Rebellion. As a key centre for Republican activity, it was also an early target for artillery fire from naval vessels on the Liffey. The building was trashed, with significant external and internal damage, but it was not burnt out or destroyed. At the end of the Rising Lt. Cooper was placed in charge of Liberty Hall and the nearby Customs House; it was during this period that he collected the majority of the items found in the present collection. Cooper's time in Ireland was short: he rejoined his regiment on 10 May and by late July was in France. The Battle of the Somme was raging when he was sent to the Front on 28 August 1916 and less than two weeks later he was killed in the carnage at High Wood on 9 September, aged 22. This album was assembled by his father after his death.