History of Ireland From the Earliest Times to the Present Day — Rev. E.A. D'Alton | Complete Six Volume Set | Gresham Publishing | Celtic Design Bindings | Good Condition

Six handsome volumes covering the full sweep of Irish history — and a set that looks as well on the shelf as it reads in the hand.

History of Ireland from the Earliest Times to the Present Day by the Reverend E.A. D'Alton LL.D., M.R.I.A. is one of the most comprehensive popular histories of Ireland produced in the early twentieth century, covering the story of the island from its earliest recorded history through to 1908. Published by the Gresham Publishing Company of Dublin and Belfast, the six half-volumes trace Irish history chronologically — Volume I from the earliest times to 1210, through to Volume VI covering 1879 to 1908 — forming a complete and coherent narrative of over a thousand years of Irish life, politics, culture and conflict.

The set is illustrated throughout with colour frontispieces, black and white plates, portraits and maps, providing a rich visual accompaniment to D'Alton's detailed and scholarly text. D'Alton brought to this project both the learning of an academic historian and the accessibility of a writer who understood that Irish history deserved to be read rather than merely consulted.

The bindings are among the most attractive of any historical set of this period. Each volume is bound in the publisher's original sage green cloth with an elaborate Celtic knotwork design blocked in gilt to both the spine and the front boards — a design that reflects the Celtic Revival aesthetic of the early twentieth century and sits beautifully as a uniform set on any shelf. The gilt lettering and decoration across all six spines remains bright and consistent.

Condition: Good throughout, consistent with age. The sage green cloth is uniform across all six volumes with light shelf wear to the extremities. The gilt Celtic decoration to the spines and boards is bright and clear throughout. Foxing is present to the page edges across the set as is typical of this paper stock and period — the text and illustrations remain clean and entirely legible. The bindings are firm throughout. No inscriptions or ownership marks.

About this set: The Gresham Publishing Company produced this edition in several formats between 1903 and 1925. A complete matched set of all six volumes in the original uniform Celtic binding is considerably more appealing than individual volumes and makes a distinguished addition to any library with an interest in Irish history, Celtic design or early twentieth century illustrated publishing.

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