{"id":532234,"date":"2026-07-04T04:57:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T04:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/532234\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T04:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T04:57:20","slug":"postcards-from-the-edge-auction-celebrates-irelands-landscape-and-people-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/532234\/","title":{"rendered":"Postcards from the edge: auction celebrates Ireland\u2019s landscape and people \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The tradition of sending postcards to loved ones at home may have waned in recent years, but not that long ago, the arrival of colourful postcards from exotic locations would have been met with excitement in households across Ireland.<\/p>\n

Postcards became collectable items too \u2013 initially as an offshoot from stamp collecting \u2013 but then for the images themselves. <\/p>\n

In 2019, Whyte\u2019s auction house made a world record by selling an entire single-owner collection of picture postcards for \u20ac130,000. The collection, which had belonged to Dubliner Seamus Kearns (1929-2014), included postcards with Irish views, historical events, advertising, art and comic images. During his lifetime, Kearns had hosted exhibitions throughout Ireland, including a major show at Dublin\u2019s Guinness Hop Store in 1995, to celebrate the centenary of picture postcards in Ireland.<\/p>\n

Now, Purcell\u2019s in Birr, Co Offaly, is to sell thousands of vintage picture postcards in its auction on Wednesday, July 15th. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are postcard collectors and dealers who regularly buy and sell cards, but there are also local history collectors who are always on the lookout for postcards from the specific region\/area of interest to add to their book collections,\u201d says Conor Purcell of Purcell Auctioneers. <\/p>\n

County libraries are also keen to buy postcards with images of rural and urban landscapes within their county. For example, DLR Lexicon library acquired nearly 700 postcards of the D\u00fan Laoghaire-Rathdown area at the Whyte\u2019s sale in 2019. Some of these images then formed the basis of an exhibition in 2020 and 2025 \u2013 What\u2019s In A Name. It explored how the name of the town changed from Dunleary to Kingstown (in honour of King George IV\u2019s visit in 1821) and then, following the foundation of the State, to D\u00fan Laoghaire.<\/p>\n

Cafe or bar owners may also be interested in postcards of local scenes at Purcell\u2019s auction. These are divided into bundles from various counties \u2013 eg Laois, Longford and Louth, Mayo, Kilkenny\/Carlow, Waterford, Cork, Donegal, Wexford \u2013 with estimates of \u20ac60-\u20ac120 and \u20ac100-\u20ac200 for each bundle. <\/p>\n

Wicklow features prominently, with four different lots of postcards depicting the towns and scenic spots in the so-called \u201cgarden county\u201d. Early picture postcards were made from wood, leather, celluloid, aluminium and even peat. The Purcell auction has some examples of peat postcards in this auction. <\/p>\n

Specialist collectors may also be drawn to the postcard albums of stereoscopic or stereograph images made in the late 19th century of tourist sites around Ireland. Near-identical photographs were paired to provide the illusion of a single three-dimensional image when viewed through a stereoscope or stereo viewer. In the late 19th century, viewing such images was a popular form of home entertainment. Batches of stereoscopic cards from Connaught\/Ulster, Leinster and Munster have estimates of \u20ac60-\u20ac120 each.<\/p>\n

\"TwoTwo stereoscopic images of Powerscourt House. Batches of stereoscopic cards have estimates of \u20ac60-\u20ac120 at Purcell’s auction on July 15th. \"StereoscopicStereoscopic images of a sheep fair in Athlone. Estimates of \u20ac60-\u20ac120 per batch at Purcell’s auction on July 15th. <\/p>\n

As is common in book auctions, the Purcell auction has lots of guide and local history books dedicated to counties including Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Dublin. These include Howth for happy, healthy holidays (\u20ac60-\u20ac100); and Tom Corkery\u2019s Dublin (1980, Mercier Press), with an estimate of \u20ac100-\u20ac200. Corkery was the pseudonym of Kevin Lehane (1921-2002), the Dublin cinema manager who wrote about Dublin pub culture for The Irish Times in the 1950s. His book captured \u201cthe innate contrariness of Dubliners\u201d<\/a>, according to The Irish Times obituary for Lehane. <\/p>\n

\"HowthHowth for Happy, Healthy Holidays, (\u20ac60-\u20ac100), at Purcell’s auction on July 15th \"TomTom Corkery\u2019s Dublin, with an estimate of \u20ac100-\u20ac200, at Purcell’s auction <\/p>\n

A rare \u201cGaelic League\u201d typewriter (\u20ac100-\u20ac200) is another item of interest. It was adapted to writing early 20th century Irish language characters during the time when Gaelic scholars Eoin MacNeill and Douglas Hyde founded the Gaelic League to preserve and revive the Irish language and culture. <\/p>\n

\"AA rare Gaelic League typewriter (\u20ac100-\u20ac200) adapted to writing early 20th century Irish-language characters. At Purcell’s auction <\/p>\n

Other items of interest include Traditional Boats of Ireland, History, Folklore and Construction, by Criostoir MacCarthaigh (Collins, 2005), which has an estimate of \u20ac40 to \u20ac60; and The Bogs of Ireland \u2013 An Introduction to the Natural, Cultural and Industrial heritage of Irish Peatlands, by John Feehan and Grace O\u2019Donovan (UCD, 1996), with an estimate of \u20ac80-\u20ac140. The collection of four hardback books by philosopher and poet John O\u2019Donohue \u2013 Anam Cara, Conamara Blues: Poems, Divine Beauty and Benedictus (\u20ac60-\u20ac80) will also attract interest.<\/p>\n

\"TraditionalTraditional Boats of Ireland, History, Folklore and Construction, by Criostoir MacCarthaigh, estimate \u20ac40-\u20ac60, at Purcell’s auction on July 15th <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, deVeres<\/a> in Dublin is holding a small online auction of 20th century interior design pieces and Irish art, which also ends on Wednesday, July 15th. There are prominent pieces by Italian designer Willy Rizzo and Danish architect and furniture designer Arne Jacobsen among the range of chairs, couches, mirrors, shelves, side tables and coffee tables.<\/p>\n

\"JaneJane O\u2019Malley\u2019s carborundum print, Red Vase, with an estimate of \u20ac300 to \u20ac500, at deVere’s auction on July 15th <\/p>\n

Collectors of Jane O\u2019Malley\u2019s work may be interested in a carborundum print entitled Red Vase (12\/30), with an estimate of \u20ac300 to \u20ac500. The Canadian-born painter, who died in 2023, moved to Co Kilkenny with her artist husband Tony O\u2019Malley in 1990. The Butler Gallery in Kilkenny city will host an exhibition, Tony & Jane O\u2019Malley: The Shared Studio, from August 8th-October 26th, in association with Kilkenny Arts Festival. This major exhibition marks the receipt of a bequest of both artists\u2019 estates by Jane O\u2019Malley to the Butler Gallery.<\/p>\n

Finally, two opportunities to celebrate creativity. Firstly, an exhibition of work by artists based in studios in Henrietta Street, one of Dublin\u2019s finest, if long-neglected Georgian thoroughfares, continues at the City Assembly House, 58 South William Street, Dublin 2, until July 10th (open from Tuesday to Saturday; 12 noon to 5pm). Paintings by Eithne Jordan, Alice Hanratty, Gwen O\u2019Dowd, Robert Armstrong and Charlie Cullen, and photographs by Anna Rackard, Perry Ogden and others are included. Secondly, a fundraising auction by the Gaiety School of Acting ends today. The lots include a print by Maser, a private tour of sculptor Rowan Gillespie\u2019s studio, and an oil painting by Irish artist Jack Coulter: https:\/\/app.galabid.com\/gaietyschool\/items<\/a><\/p>\n

Purcellauctioneers.ie; deveres.ie <\/p>\n

What did it sell for?<\/p>\n

\"FamilleFamille rose ‘boy and chicken’ cup <\/p>\n

Famille rose \u2018boy and chicken\u2019 cup<\/p>\n

Estimate \u20ac20,000-\u20ac30,000<\/p>\n

Hammer price \u20ac115,000<\/p>\n

Auction house Adam\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BronzeBronze turquoise cloisonn\u00e9 enamel lotus vase from the Yongzheng period (\u20ac8,000-\u20ac12,000). <\/p>\n

Turquoise cloisonn\u00e9 enamel lotus vase from Yongzheng period<\/p>\n

Estimate \u20ac8,000-\u20ac12,000<\/p>\n

Hammer price \u20ac11,000<\/p>\n

Auction house Adam\u2019s<\/p>\n

\"AA late Shang-style archaic bronze tripod vessel known as a ding. <\/p>\n

Ding: Late Shang-style bronze tripod vessel<\/p>\n

Estimate \u20ac200-\u20ac300<\/p>\n

Hammer price \u20ac8,000<\/p>\n

Auction house Adam\u2019s<\/p>\n

\"GeorgeGeorge Best, Manchester United, 1968 European Cup Winners’ Medal <\/p>\n

George Best\u2019s 1968 European Cup winners\u2019 medal <\/p>\n

Estimate \u00a3150,000-\u00a3250,000 (\u20ac170,000-\u20ac290,000)<\/p>\n

Hammer price \u00a3305,200<\/p>\n

Auction house Bonhams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The tradition of sending postcards to loved ones at home may have waned in recent years, but not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226373,75118,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-532234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-adams-auctioneers","tag-deveres","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}