Description

[005011] Lever, Charles. The O’Donoghue; A Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago. ill. Browne, H. K. Dublin: William Curry, Jun. And Company, 1845. First Edition. 8vo. Hardback. Good. [5], viii-xi, [2], 2-410pp. Contemporay half calf and marbled paper over boards, flat bands, spine in five panels, title label to second panel, remaining panels stamped in blind, gilt pallet to bands, all edges marbled

The paper covering upper board is slightly rubbed, very minor wear to extremities. Internally some light browning and oxidisation to plate edges as often, some off setting from plates, small amount of worm damage to bottom part of first few pages, but largely unobtrusive, lacking half title. With an engraved frontispiece and twenty-five plates by H. K. Browne (Phiz) as called for

The first edition, originally published in eleven parts. Sadleir 1413; Wolff 4096; Loeber and Loeber L153, noting that the titular hero O’Donoghue, “a member of the decaying Catholic gentry, joins the United Irishmen and witnesses the French expedition of Admiral Hoche in 1796, which ended disastrously under terrible storm conditions. One the characters is a well-intentioned English landlord who makes ludicrous attempts to better the conditions for his tenants” (Loeber and Loeber, page 757)