CAULFIELD, Richard. LL.D. The Council Book of the Corporation of the City of Cork, from 1609 to 1643, and from 1690 to 1800. Edited from the original, with Annals and Appendices compiled from public and private records.

Guildford: Billing, 1876. Quarto. pp. xxx, 1191. Contemporary full red morocco, covers tooled in gilt enclosing in the centre the gilt armorial crest of Robert Day. Spine divided into five panels by five gilt raised bands, title and author in gilt direct in the second and third; board edges and turn-ins gilt; comb-marbled endpapers; armorial bookplate of Robert Day on front pastedown, Richard Caulfield’s decorative architectural bookplate on front free endpaper; blue and gold endbands. All edges marbled. Some mild rubbing. Manuscript full page in Robert Day’s hand recording the death of his friend and fellow antiquarian Richard Caulfield. Loosely inserted is an autograph letter signed from Caulfield to Dillon Croker (Crofton Croker’s son), three pages octavo, dated at the Royal Institution, Cork, dated August 13th 1870. In the letter Caulfield discusses the death of Charles Dickens. A near fine copy with a magnificent provenance. Rare.
See items 56 & 63.
The Council Book of the Corporation of the City of Cork contains the proceedings of the municipal authorities of Cork during the period, 1690 to 1800. Caulfield’s work is an endeavour to provide a faithful record of history using sources in the Library of the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and the Treasury of the Corporation of Cork. Caulfield notes that the Council Book for the years between 1643 and 1690 were lost. The Corporation’s work was discontinued during the period of the Civil Wars in England, Scotland and Ireland in the 1640s and 1650s. The period which is missing corresponds to the period between the English Civil War and the Williamite Wars. Richard Caulfield (1823-1887) was secretary, librarian and custodian of the Royal Cork Institution and librarian for Queen’s College Cork. He is considered to be Cork’s foremost historical and theological expert using obscure manuscripts and recording these during his lifetime. He was acquainted with and respected by the members of the clergy, Cork city dignitaries, lecturers, professors and the student body of Queen’s College and he corresponded with many leading antiquarians and historians during his career.

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