ALLEN (Robert, fl. 1840, Irish Barrister, 'Cosmopolite' and Author of 'A Sportsman in Ireland')

Autograph Letter Signed to an unnamed correspondent saying that he doesn't know if "you are acquainted with the fact that my little work the 'Sportsman in Ireland' has been the means of establishing under the auspices of the Government a fishing station at Valentia. I have been invited by some very high in authority again to visit Ireland and to make an unbiased report of its state ... I propose ... to produce 2 vols with 20 or 30 lithographed cuts in the popular style. The drawings I shall myself furnish ... the price I shall require is 150£ to be paid on delivery of the whole manuscript & drawings. Of course it will be published under my name. Since O'Connell's defence against the Times Commissioner on the authority of the Sportman in Ireland the copies are greedily sought for, and there is a strong sensation in relation to the work which certainly, when compared with recent events, appears to be prophetic ....", 4 sides 8vo., 3 Sergeants Inn, 23rd May

The Sportsman in Ireland appeared in 1840, and while there are many chapters of angling expeditions the books are chiefly a history of the state of the country and its inhabitants. He was appalled at the poverty he encountered, and he wrote of the continual approaches by groups of ragged people begging for alms.

Item Date:  1848

Stock No:  39550