Beschreibung:

The Estate of the Late Tony Sweeney (Lots 400 - 698) __________________________________________ James I (1566-1625). Letters Patent of Manumission of James Irvinge, dated Dublin, November 26th, 1623. A fine manuscript document, 11 x 16 inches, with a fine rare impression of the Great Seal of Ireland in light-brown wax attached. Signed at the foot by Fra. Edgeworth. Written in Latin. Under 40 examples of the Great Irish Seals are known and listed by P.D.A Harvey and Andrew McGuinness in their Guide to Medieval Scales. This document is signed by Francis Edgeworth. Under the patronage of Essex and Cecil, Edward Edgeworth, from England, was favored with the Bishoprick of Down and Connor in 1593, He was accompanied by his brother (and heir) Francis, the signatory. Francis established an estate at Edgeworthstown Co. Longford, his best known descendants being Maria Edgeworth the novelist and her father, the polymath, Richard Lovell Edgeworth. Francis obtained the lucrative position as clerk of The Crown and of the Hanaper in 1619, and married Jane, daughter of Sir Edmond Tuite. The clerk of The Crown and Hanaper attended the Houses of Parliament with responsibility for making out and issuing writs under the Great Seal. The Hanaper (archaic for Hamper) was so called because the writs were kept in (originally) a wicker-work basket. The Clerk of the Hanaper was an officer of the Courts of Cancery and had a role in the collecting of crown revenues, fees, commissions, etc. Thus this document required Francis Edgeworth's signature before the 'manumission' came into effect under the Great Seal. This archaic instrument was, in this case, a pseudo-feudal gloss on converting Irvines land from veillenage to an estate in fee, a doubtful legal procedure for lands that had been in the first case seized illegally from their original owners. As an extension to the feudal concept of releasing 'natives' from villainage, ie. from being in the ownership of the feudal overlord, manumission usually refers to the release of slaves in America. Tony Sweeney was best known as a racing journalist - 'the doyen of Irish racing' according to The Irish Times - whose remarkable memory and passionate interest in the sport made him one of the best-known figures in Ireland's racing fraternity; his enthusiastic love of racing was also communicated to those who follow it on television where he was, for many years, the paddock commentator for RTE. His research into Irish racing produced The Sweeney Guide to the Irish Turf 1501-2001 (2002), a meticulously researched and highly entertaining account of the facts and anecdotes of Irish racing -- essential reading for future generations of breeders, trainers and race-goers. While researching that book, Tony Sweeney assembled a unique collection of Irish racing books and memorabilia including stable returns, stud books, annuals, histories, biographies, paintings, prints, and silver as well as racecards and other ephemera. Much of this wonderful collection is now offered at auction. In addition, Tony was well known for his remarkable collection of sixteenth and seventeenth-century books; to provide the context for his own books, Tony undertook pioneering bibliographical work which led to the publication, in 1997, of his Ireland and the Printed Word 1475-1700, the definitive scholarly survey of pre-1700 books associated with Ireland for which he was awarded a Doctorate of Letters by the National University. Tony was famous in book-collecting circles for his passionate pursuit of rare books and his determination to buy only the best. The result was a library of books unequalled in private hands in Ireland - and it is many of the finest of those books that are now offered at auction. Tony's collecting skills in silver were equally prized and his 1995 Irish Stuart Silver a short descriptive catalogue is acknowledged as the essential guide in the field. Again Tony bought only the best and showed here, as in his selection of books,