SULLIVAN, Dennis. A Picturesque Tour through Ireland, by Dennis Sullivan, Esq. Illustrated with numerous hand coloured views of the most interesting scenery.

WITH MAGNIFICENT HAND COLOURED AQUATINTS

London: Published by Thomas M’Lean, 26 Haymarket, 1824. Oblong quarto. pp. 25 (plates), 28. Recent full green morocco, covers framed by double gilt fillets and blind wave roll; flat spine, titled in gilt; brown and white endbands. Some thumbing to a few pages, else a very good and attractive copy of this exceedingly rare topographical work.
COPAC locates 2 copies only. WorldCat 1. Elmes and Hewson 2109 Abbey 460 Tooley 469.
The author/artist notes in his introduction that “few parts of the British dominions are so little known to the English as the highly interesting sister-kingdom, of whose beauties we have given a small sketch in the following pages. Whatever may tempt the tourist, or man of fortune, to visit and explore the romantic, and beautiful, and often highly-cultivated scenery of Ireland”. Diverting somewhat he castigates the absentee landowners for neglecting the country like faithless shepherds, deserting their posts, and consigning their tenantry to the gripping hand of a middle man ... Provided he can wring out of them the fortune he generally makes in a few short years. Sullivan then returns to the core reason for this work with a description of Ireland as: “a country possessing an infinity of wealth in its agricultural and commercial resources”. He goes on “In Ireland the antiquarian may find full employment for the most active mind ... The artist will find, among the lakes and mountains of Erin, an inexhaustible store of subjects that are not surpassed in any other part of the world, either in romantic grandeur, or beautiful and pastoral simplicity”. Perhaps one of the finest collections of coloured Irish aquatint views. The magnificent scenes depicted are as follows: The Mountains of Mome (Mourne); Irish Cottages, Wicklow; Stone Cross at Kilcullen; Wicklow Gold Mines; Mountains of Luganaquilla; Lough Erne, and Isle of Devenish; Abbey of Monaincha; Principal Lake at Killarney; Abbey of Aghaboe; Trim Castle; Giant’s Causeway; Ballrichan Castle; Roche Castle; Belfast; Lough of Belfast; View of the River Shannon; Downpatrick; Loch Neagh; Carlingford Castle; Waterfall near Bantry; Salmon Leap at Leixlip; Dunamase; Bray Head; View of the River Blackwater; and Limerick.

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