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| William O'Brien (1832-1899) |
About four months ago The Guardian newspaper online ran an article about the forthcoming sale of the personal library of William O'Brien, an Irish judge and bibliophile. A large collection of books held in the Jesuit Library near Dublin for over a century, including many items of incunabula (books published prior to 1501), will go up for sale. The value of those being put up for sale is estimated at £1,500,000 (or about $1.9 million).
According to the Irish Times, Sotheby's described the collection as "one of the most important of its kind to come to the market." It is said to contain rare printed books from the 15th century, early Shakespeare editions, literature, and medieval manuscripts. A catalogue puiblished in 1932 by the Milltown Park Library (Jesuits) listed 117 items bequeathed to it by William O'Brien in 1899. An indication of the size of the collection is that the University of Cambridge had one of the largest libraries at the beginning of the 14th century, which consisted of 122 books.
@ The Guardian
@ Sotherby's Blog - Introduction: William O'Brien
@ Sotherby's- auction results
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