Fonsie Mealy's THE LIBRARY HOWTH CASTLE September 22nd & 23rd, 2021

far from Arundel. He quickly added a chapel and new library to the house. In 1859 Thomas remarried. His newwife Lady Emily St Lawrence, the eldest daughter of the 3rd Earl of Howth was also Catholic. Their eldest surviving son Julian was ultimately to inherit Howth. After nine years, she too died and in 1870 he married for a third time, Lady Alice Kerr, the Catholic daughter of the Marquis of Lothian. This final marriage was not a happy one and the couple gradually led increasingly separate lives. Thomas lived a reclusive life and took solace in other pursuits, principal among which was book collecting. He was a Member of the Society of Dilettanti which included men of like-minded literary interests. In accumulating books, he demonstrated an interest in both content and their bindings. That is evident from the fine examples of elaborate bindings being offered for sale. In 1890 he sold some two thousand books in a much-publicised sale over eight days at Sotheby’s. He had no need of money- when he died seven years later, he left a large fortune. It seems likely that he was motivated by the fact that Julian, by now his heir, had been educated as a naval officer and had no particular interest in his collection. He was getting older and the sale presented an opportunity to show the world what he had achieved and demonstrate his literary acumen. The sale realised over £10,000 and included editions of all four folios of Shakespeare’s plays and of all Blakes illustrated publications. Despite that sale, Julian still had to commission Lutyens to build the library. No classical texts were sold- he left his father’s library largely intact. The complete editions of Curtis’s Botanical Magazine reflect the Gaisfords’ characteristic love of gardening. While the famous gardens at Iford were created by Harold Peto, a subsequent owner, the gardens at Offingtonweremagnificent and, in the period prior to the SecondWorldWar, those at Howth were maintained to a very high standard. The St Lawrence collection was inherited after the sale and were bought for less worthy reasons. Volumes of Victorian poetry may be less erudite than early classical texts, but they are a great deal more accessible. This sale, sadly, closes a chapter in my family’s history. We no longer own Howth, and I am afraid I am unwilling to emulate my ancestors and add a large new library to the house I have purchased. Julian Gaisford-St. Lawrence July 2021 5