BURSTON, George. Compiled by: Charter of the Royal Hospital of King Charles II. &c, near Dublin, For the Relief and Maintenance of ancient and maimed Officers and Soldiers of the Army of Ireland.

Dublin: Printed by George Faulkner, in Essex-Street, 1760. 12mo. pp. xii, 119, [1]. Contemporary full mottled calf. Covers framed by a floral roll enclosing in the centre of the upper cover the arms of the Royal Hospital in gilt, an Hibernian harp surmounted by the Crown of England; with encircled legend ‘The Charter of the Royal Hospital’. Flat spine divided into six panels by gilt Greek roll, title in gilt on black morocco letterpiece, the remainder with gilt floral tool in centre. Board edges gilt; splash-marbled endpapers. Previous owner’s signature on front endpaper ‘L. ... Banks / Royal Hospital / Kilmainham / 13th. April 1873.’ Spine professionally rebacked, preserving original backstrip. Occasional mild foxing. A very good copy. Very scarce.

ESTC T114729.
The Royal Hospital Kilmainham stands on the site of a seventh-century early Christian settlement, replaced in Norman times with a monastery of the Knights Hospitaller. The building as we know it today was begun in 1680. Leading architects such as William Robinson, Thomas Burgh and Francis Johnson made it the starting point for Dublin’s development into a city of European standing.
Inspired by Les Invalides in Paris, the building was to be a retirement home for old soldiers. Over the next 247 years, thousands of army pensioners lived out their final days within its walls. In 1991, the
Royal Hospital Kilmainham became home to the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

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