Rare Book & Collectors' Sale June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026

83 Fonsie Mealy’s Est. 1934 Eight Letters discussing Preparations for the Visit of George IV to Powerscourt House and Demesne, 20 June to 1 Sept. 1821. The first is a copy letter of the 5th Viscount Powerscourt, effusively inviting the King to stay at Powerscourt and enjoy its beauties when he visits Dublin. The others are all original letters to him from Benjamin Bloomfield, private secretary to the King, in which he acknowledges the King’s acceptance of the invitation but explains that, owing to pressure on his time, it will have to be limited to arrival at noon, “déjeuner à la fourchette” from 2 to 3, and then return to Dunleary. In the last, he states that it will be Lord Powerscourt’s choice whom he invites to meet the King; together with: Royal letters of Powerscourt interest 1 - 24 August 1832. Beaumaris (Anglesey). Princess Victoria to the Viscountess Powerscourt (Theodosia, widow of the 5th Viscount) at Penryn Castle (Cornwall). Apologises for not having recognised her when they met yesterday. “You must have been surprised to have seen Victoria on horseback, it is so long since you have seen her.” In original envelope, with seal. (The young princess, aged 13, was then on tour with her mother and tutor. This letter suggests an unexpectedly playful side to her nature.) 2 - 13 Feb. 1846. Clarence House. Queen Victoria to Lady Powerscourt (Elizabeth, widow of the 6th Viscount), contributing £5 to the Magdalen Asylum. In original envelope, with seal. 3 - 8 Jan. 1847. Frogmore. Queen Victoria to Lady Powerscourt. “I deeply commiserate the appalling misery which pervades your unhappy Ireland, and I have great pleasure in complying with your request that my name should be enrolled as a Patroness of the Ladies’ Relief Association, to which I shall be happy to contribute £25.” (Nationalist propaganda has castigated Queen Victoria for a mean response to the Irish Famine. This letter, contributing £25 to a relief organisation, shows that she was at least far from indifferent or unresponsive.) 4 - 16 Feb. 1848. Frogmore. Queen Victoria to Lady Powerscourt, contributing £5 to the Magdalen Asylum. In original envelope, with seal. 5 a) 4 March 1874. Windsor Castle. Queen Victoria to Lady Eyre, expressing her heartfelt sympathy on the death of her precious child. b) 6 March 1874. Bilton. Georgiana Eyre’s reply to the Queen, thanking her for her letter and quoting one from her son, posted at Cape Coast Castle on 6 Feb. but only just received – by which time he was already dead. (Lieutenant Eyre, her only child, was mortally wounded in the battle of Ordashu on 4 Feb. 1874 during the Third Ashanti War.) 6 - 17 July [1880]. Marlborough House. Prince Albert Edward (later Edward VII) to the [7th] Viscount Powerscourt, congratulating him and Lady Powerscourt on the birth of a son and heir (Mervyn, the future 8th Viscount, born 16 July 1880). 7 - 28 July 1894. Marlborough House. Francis Knollys, private secretary to the Prince of Wales, to Lord Powerscourt, 65 Brook St., Grosvenor Square, thanking him on the Prince’s behalf for the gift of his book. In original envelope. 8 - 29 July 1894. Osborne. Sir Henry Ponsonby, private secretary to Queen Victoria, to Lord Powerscourt, thanking him on the Queen’s behalf for his gift of his book, The Muniments of the Saxon Family of Wingfield. 9 - 8 Nov. 1903. York Cottage, Sandringham, Norfolk. “George P.” (George, Prince of Wales, later King George V) to Lord Powerscourt, thanking him for sending his history of Powerscourt. “It will always remind me of your beautiful place which we had the pleasure of visiting in 1897.” An important and detailed Correspondence, giving insight into relations with the Royal and the Irish Nobility. As an Archive. (1) €1,200 - €1,500 653. Preparations for a Famous Royal Visit to Powerscourt in 1821