Lot 50
Alexander, Sir James Edward (1803-1885)
Sketchbooks of Ireland, 1857-9
Auction: The Library of General Sir James Alexander | Wed 25 February from 10am | Lots 31 to 62
Description
8vo (18 x 11cm), contemporary red pebble-grain cloth album, approx. 40 pp., sketches throughout, mainly pen and ink (a few in pencil), to rectos only, manuscript captions, subjects including: scenes and caricatures of Irish life (e.g. ‘a tasty hat we saw in Cork’, ‘Voters, Middleton, Co. Cork, 7th April 1857, Camp detach to keep the peace’, couples dancing, etc.) and of military life and drill, portraits of figures of various social ranks (e.g. Earl of Meath, Earl of Carlisle the Lord Lieutenant, ‘Mr Jukes Geologist’, ‘General Chesney [possibly Francis Rawdon Chesney], ‘Professor Sullivan’ of Trinity College Dublin, various members of the British Association, ‘Sergeant O’Dwyer of the Cork Militia’, ‘Waiter at Tallow: ‘We’ve none o’ that!’', ‘Killarney boatman’, etc.), views (Royal Hospital Dublin, Kinsale), and similar, ownership inscription ‘Sir J. E. Alexander 1857’;
oblong 12mo (8.5 x 15cm), contemporary black straight-grain morocco album with brass clasp and catch, numbered ‘18’ on spine in gilt, approx. 60 ff., sketches throughout, mainly in pen and ink, a few in pencil, some with added grey wash, largely to rectos only, a few to versos, manuscript captions, the subjects including views of castles, country houses, towns and rural areas (e.g. Lismore, Kilcolman, Mallow, Waterford, Tramore, etc.), excursions and genre scenes (e.g. archery meet near Mount Leinster, exploring a cromlech near Kilmaclenine castle), portraits, and miscellaneous sketches and caricatures (a shrine to Ganesha, dated 1824, presumably a recollection of Alexander’s service in Burma; ‘There was an Old Man of Jamaica’ after Edward Lear; salmon spearing in New Brunswick, Canada), ownership inscription ‘Sir James Edwd Alexander, 1 D.B, Fermoy, Jany- 1858’;
oblong 12mo (8.6 x 15.5cm), contemporary black hard-grain morocco album with white metal clasp and catch, numbered ‘19’ on spine in gilt, approx., 80 ff., with pen and ink sketches throughout (often several to a page, mainly to rectos only, a few embellished with coloured pencil or grey wash), manuscript captions, the subjects including views (of towns, landscapes, and important buildings, e.g. River Dargle, Chair of Kildare, Wicklow, Mullingar, Glendalough, the seat of the Marquis of Drogheda at Moore Abbey, etc.), sketches and caricatures of people, scenes and objects of interest from military and civilian life (e.g. ‘Paddy Byrne, near Ballysaxe, landlord of a public’, ‘comet as seen at Kilkenny, Oct 1858’, ‘the crooked legged man of Holywood’, pheasant shooting in Garbally, antiquities), occasional sketches from other episodes and places from Alexander’s life (including the Crimean war, the family seat at Westerton, Dumbarton, Ben Lomond, Prince Albert at the opening of the British Scientific Association in 1859, a West Indian soldier, ‘An Arab of Aden’, etc.), with ownership inscription ‘Colonel Sir James Edwd. Alexander, 14 Regiment, Jany 1859, Dublin’;
and 1 other similar album (4to, quarter morocco, including a pencilled sketch-map of Killarney and environs, and a few views) (4)
Provenance
THE LIBRARY OF GENERAL SIR JAMES EDWARD ALEXANDER (1803-1885)
Footnote
Alexander was sent to Ireland after the end of Crimean War, first joining a depot battalion before being ordered to raise and command the second battalion of the 14th regiment of foot, which in 1860 he took to New Zealand to fight in the First Taranaki War.