SAVAGE, John. Ed. by. Picturesque Ireland: A Literary and Artistic Delineation of the Natural Scenery, Remarkable Places, Historical Antiquities, Public Buildings, Ancient Abbeys, Towers, Castles, and other Romantic and Attractive Features of Ireland.

Illustrated in steel and wood by eminent native and foreign artists. With large coloured map of Ireland, 32 coloured county maps and with over 550 illustrations in steel and wood. New York: Thomas Kelly, 1878. Quarto. pp. xxxiii, 649. Engraved half title. Contemporary half brown morocco on light brown pebbled cloth, title and gilt decoration on spine. All edges marbled. A very good copy.
John Savage (1828-1888) was an Irish nationalist writer, poet, journalist, and editor whose career bridged revolutionary politics, literature, and cultural nationalism in both Ireland and the United States. Born in Dublin into a strongly nationalist family, he trained initially as an artist at the RDS but was expelled in 1848 following his involvement in radical republican activity and the suppression of his newspaper The Patriot. After participating in the failed Young Ireland rising, he fled to America, where he established himself as a journalist, poet, and editor within Irish-American nationalist circles. His early literary output included nationalist ballads and historical works such as Lays of the Fatherland (1850) and ‘98 and ‘48 (1856), alongside journalism for leading American publications.
Savage’s career in the United States was wide-ranging: he worked as an editor, playwright, political commentator, and civil servant, served briefly in the Union Army’s Irish Brigade during the Civil War, and later edited major newspapers in Washington and New Orleans. A prominent figure in Irish-American nationalism, he served as president of the Fenian Brotherhood from 1867 to 1871, though declining health and factional disputes ultimately led him to withdraw from political leadership. Thereafter, he concentrated on literary and cultural work, lecturing widely and publishing poetry, drama, biography, and historical studies.
His editorship of Picturesque Ireland (1878) represents the culmination of this later phase: a consciously cultural and visual celebration of Ireland’s landscapes, history, and heritage, aimed at both Irish and diaspora audiences. The work reflects Savage’s transition from revolutionary activism to cultural nationalism, positioning Ireland not only as a political cause but as a nation of historical depth and aesthetic richness. It remains one of his most enduring contributions, uniting literary nationalism with illustrated topographical survey in a form that proved influential and popular in the late nineteenth century.

[CAT 163]