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THE ANTIENT AND PRESENT STATE OF THE COUNTY OF DOWN. CONTAINING A CHOROGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION, WITH THE NATURAL AND CIVIL HISTORY OF THE SAME. ILLUSTRATED BY OBSERVATIONS MADE ON THE BARONIES, PARISHES, TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, ABBEYS, CHARTER SCHOOLS, MOUNTAINS, RIVERS, LAKES, MEDICINAL AND OTHER SPRINGS, &c. WITH A SURVEY OF THE NEW CANAL; AS ALSO, A NEW AND CORRECT MAP OF THE COUNTY
by Smith, Charles and Walter Harris
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
Eugene, Oregon, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Dublin, Ireland: A. Reilly, 1744. First Edition. Leather-bound. Very Good. Small octavo, 5 x 8 in., pp. xvii + 2 (Contents) + 271 + [1] + 20 (unpaginated Index). Illustrated with fold-out map (16 x 11.5 inches) of the county of Down, Full calf with gilt double frame to front and rear boards, and gilt title on red morocco label to rebacked spine. Five raised bands to spine. Gilt board edges. Publisher's red stain to edges. Light rubbing to extremities. Unmarked bookplate with coat of arms and the motto "Acuspide Corona" ("from the spear, a crown") to front pastedown. Age-toning to pages. Map has light age-toning and small creases and two 1/2 inch closed tears to bottom right. ESTC T144670. Bookplate motto and heraldic coat of arms corresponds to Brodrick, Viscount Midleton.
Smith, Charles (1715?-1762), apothecary, topographer, and writer, was born in Co. Waterford. Details of his life remain obscure, but he was educated in medicine and worked as an apothecary in Lismore (1739-44) and Dungarvan, Co. Waterford (1744-60). He is remembered as a pioneer of Irish topography and local history.
His first work, The antient and present state of the county of Down (1744), was produced in collaboration with Walter Harris and dedicated to Hans Sloane, and was the first thorough history of an Irish county. The work was intended as the first of a series of such surveys and led to the foundation (14 April 1744) of the Physico-Historical Society in Dublin. Under the auspices of this body Smith proceeded to publish accounts of Co. Waterford (1746), Co. Cork (1750), and - after the society's demise - Co. Kerry (1756). Information was gathered by corresponding with local residents, and the books were marketed to an educated upper- and middle-class readership keen to improve their knowledge of the Irish countryside and economy. His work remains an invaluable source for Irish historians.
In 1756 he was a founding member and first secretary of the Medico-Philosophical Society in Dublin. He died in Bristol in July 1762. (from Dictionary of Irish Biography).
Smith, Charles (1715?-1762), apothecary, topographer, and writer, was born in Co. Waterford. Details of his life remain obscure, but he was educated in medicine and worked as an apothecary in Lismore (1739-44) and Dungarvan, Co. Waterford (1744-60). He is remembered as a pioneer of Irish topography and local history.
His first work, The antient and present state of the county of Down (1744), was produced in collaboration with Walter Harris and dedicated to Hans Sloane, and was the first thorough history of an Irish county. The work was intended as the first of a series of such surveys and led to the foundation (14 April 1744) of the Physico-Historical Society in Dublin. Under the auspices of this body Smith proceeded to publish accounts of Co. Waterford (1746), Co. Cork (1750), and - after the society's demise - Co. Kerry (1756). Information was gathered by corresponding with local residents, and the books were marketed to an educated upper- and middle-class readership keen to improve their knowledge of the Irish countryside and economy. His work remains an invaluable source for Irish historians.
In 1756 he was a founding member and first secretary of the Medico-Philosophical Society in Dublin. He died in Bristol in July 1762. (from Dictionary of Irish Biography).
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Details
- Bookseller
- Aardvark Rare Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 85723
- Title
- THE ANTIENT AND PRESENT STATE OF THE COUNTY OF DOWN. CONTAINING A CHOROGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION, WITH THE NATURAL AND CIVIL HISTORY OF THE SAME. ILLUSTRATED BY OBSERVATIONS MADE ON THE BARONIES, PARISHES, TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, ABBEYS, CHARTER SCHOOLS, MOUNTAINS, RIVERS, LAKES, MEDICINAL AND OTHER SPRINGS, &c. WITH A SURVEY OF THE NEW CANAL; AS ALSO, A NEW AND CORRECT MAP OF THE COUNTY
- Author
- Smith, Charles and Walter Harris
- Format/Binding
- Leather-bound
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- A. Reilly
- Place of Publication
- Dublin, Ireland
- Date Published
- 1744
- Keywords
- County Down, History of Ireland
Terms of Sale
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About the Seller
Aardvark Rare Books
Biblio member since 2004
Eugene, Oregon
About Aardvark Rare Books
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- Morocco
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- Calf
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- Rebacked
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- Edges
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