Tuesday, August 22, 2006

When Irish Eyes are Smiling...

We just got a great book on Irish arts and their history, at a bargain price!

"Making the Grand Figure. Lives and Possessions in Ireland, 1641-1770" by Toby Barnard. Published by Yale University Press in 2004.

”In this pioneering study of the material culture of Stuart and Hanoverian Ireland, Toby Barnard reveals a hitherto unsuspected richness and diversity of lifestyle, habitat and mentality. The compass of the book is impressively wide, from the governing elite of Dublin Castle to provincial towns and the countryside beyond. Looking yet further, it follows the Irish overseas to Britain and the continent of Europe. Through such everyday articles as linen shirts, wigs, silver teaspoons, pottery plates and engravings, Barnard evokes a striking variety of lives and attitudes. Possessions, he shows, highlighted and widened divisions, not only between the rich and poor, women and men, but also between Irish Catholics and the Protestant settlers.”

There are chapters focusing on the house, interiors, goods, pictures, the park & garden, sport, dress, Dublin, going abroad, and Society.

Hardcover. 8”x9.5”, xxii + 497 pages, b/w and some color illustrations, dj. Published at $50.00. We have a limited number in stock for $25.00.

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