Auction Date:2011 Apr 16 @ 13:00 (UTC+01:00 : BST/CET)
Location:The Freemasons Hall - 17 Molesworth Street, Dublin, Dublin, ., Ireland
1803. Robert Emmet's Proclamation. One of the rarest Irish revolutionary documents extant. "The Provisional Government TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND"
letterpress, framed
53 by 44cm., 21 by 17.5in.
Provenance:
The Wolfe family, Forenaughts House, Co. Kildare; Forenaughts House contents auction 1994; Private collection
Theobald Wolfe of Forenaughts House was the godfather of Theobald Wolfe Tone, the son of Peter Tone, a coach builder who married a companion of Wolfe's wife. It is interesting that the Wolfe family should have retained this seditious document, given that Arthur Wolfe, the first Baron Kilwarden, and first cousin of Theobald Wolfe, was, along with his nephew, killed by rebels during the insuurection of 1803. (see lot 40 in this sale)The last member of the Wolfe family to live at Forenaughts, was Emily Maud Wolfe, the daughter of Cumann na nGaedhal TD George Wolfe and proudly counted amongst her ancestors Theobald Wolfe Tone and the famous General James Wolfe who was killed during the Seven Year’s War. Up until her death on the 28th of April 1980 she regularly attended the Bodenstown commemorations.Robert Emmet was born in Dublin in 1778. After attending Whyte’s Academy, in the company of Thomas Moore, Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, , he entered Trinity College, Dublin in October 1793 and became involved in political activism. He was elected secretary to the secret United Irish Committee in the college, and was expelled in April 1798 as a result and fled to France to avoid the many arrests that were taking place in Ireland after the 1798 Rebellion. After his return to Ireland Emmet began to prepare for rebellion with fellow revolutionaries Thomas Russell and James Hope. Unlike in 1798, the preparations for the uprising were successfully concealed, but a premature explosion at one of Emmet's arms depots killed a man and forced Emmet to bring forward the date of the rising before the authorities' suspicions were aroused. As part of the preparations Emmet wrote this proclamation addressing it from “The Provisional Government to The People of Ireland”. It began by reiterating republican sentiments expressed during the previous rebellion and calling on the Irish population to claim their right to independence “You are now called on to show to the world that you are competent to take your place among nations, that you have a right to claim their recognisance of you, as an independent country ... We therefore solemnly declare, that our object is to establish a free and independent republic in Ireland: that the pursuit of this object we will relinquish only with our lives ... We war against no religious sect ... We war against English dominion.” The Proclamation not only served as a call to arms but also as an interim constitution and is remarkably forward thinking in terms of constitutional law.
The lines “we will not imitate you in cruelty; we will put no man to death in cold blood, the prisoners which first fall into our hands shall be treated with the respect” predates the first Geneva Convention by 60 years, which is considered today as the basis on which rest the rules of international law for the protection of the victims of armed conflicts on the treatment of prisoners of war. Seán Ó Brádaigh, in his 2003 book recording the life of Emmet, Bold Robert Emmet, put forward his argument that the proclamation contains ‘a moral framework’ for those ‘unfortunate but sometimes necessary events in human life’.
.Shortly after the rebellion began it disintegrated into little more than a riot, in stark contrast to the beliefs and ideals that Emmet displayed in the proclamation. Emmet was unable to secure the help of rebels from Wicklow under the command of United Irishmen leader Michael Dwyer and many rebels from Kildare who had arrived to help, turned back due to the lack of firearms they had been promised. Nonetheless the rising went ahead in Dublin on the evening of 23 July 1803. Failing to seize Dublin Castle, which was lightly defended, the rising amounted to a large-scale riot in the Thomas Street area. Emmet personally witnessed a dragoon being pulled from his horse and piked to death, the sight of which prompted him to call off the rising to avoid further bloodshed. However he had lost all control of his followers and in one incident, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Lord Kilwarden (see lot 40), reviled as chief prosecutor of William Orr in 1797, but also the judge who granted habeas corpus to Wolfe Tone in 1798, was dragged from his carriage and hacked to death. Sporadic clashes continued into the night until finally quelled by the military at the estimated cost of twenty soldiers and fifty rebels dead. After being captured Emmet was put on trial and made no attempt to defend himself however he requested that his Proclamation of the Provisional Government be read out in open court as it reflected his beliefs, morals and aspirations. It expressed his views on the rebellion, and emphasised his humanitarian concerns about the treatment of prisoners and the conduct of the republican government. The proclamation however was one which the British authorities had no intention of giving any publicity to and Emmet’s request to have it read was rejected by the court. However Emmet did manage to integrate direct quotations and paraphrased parts of his proclamation into his famous speech from the dock. He detailed the actions of the past eight months, the attempt to wrest power from England ‘with their own hands’, the point that foreign assistance was not ‘the foundation of the present exertion’ and referred to Ireland taking its place among the nations of the earth. Emmet was found guilty of treason and was hung, drawn and quartered – one of the last convicts to suffer this barbaric execution - on 20 September 1803 in Thomas Street, Dublin.
Due to the destruction and suppression of the proclamation it never fully received the status and acknowledgment as the hugely important historical document that it is. It provided inspiration for Pádraig Pearse in writing the 1916 Proclamation and summed up Emmet’s remarkable opinions, some of which could be described as too modern to be accepted or understood in 1803.Approximately 10,000 copies of the proclamation are reputed to have been secretly printed on Emmet’s orders on 23 July 1803, but the British authorities went to great efforts in order to ensure that its content was suppressed and they were nearly all destroyed. It is hard to believe that so many were printed clandestinely, and it is far more likely, as in the case of the 1916 Proclamation, that the numbers printed were in the hundreds. As far as we have been able to ascertain there are three examples in private hands, of which the present example is one. About 500 copies of the 1916 Proclamation were printed, of which some fifty survive, mainly in public collections. We can find no record of an example of the 1803 Proclamation in either the National Library of Ireland, The National Museum of Ireland or Trinity College Library. As the penalty for possession of the 1803 Proclamation was very harsh, and could even, in certain circumstances, lead to the gallows, there were few prepared to keep it, which has made it one of the rarest, if not the rarest important printed document of Irish revolutionary history.
Auction Location:
The Freemasons Hall - 17 Molesworth Street, Dublin, Dublin, ., Ireland
Previewing Details:
At our galleries
38 Molesworth Street
Dublin 2
Wednesday 13 April 10am to 6pm
Thursday 14 April 10am to 6pm
Friday 15 April 10am to 6pm
Saturday 16 April 9.30am to 12noon
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
20% |
Additional Fees:
Shipping Details:
No Info Available
Payment Details:
No Info Available
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE NOTICE
Whyte & Sons Auctioneers Limited, trading as Whyte’s, exercises all reasonable
care to ensure that all descriptions are reliable and accurate, and that each
item is genuine unless the contrary is indicated. However, the descriptions are
not intended to be, are not and are not to be taken to be, statements of fact
or representations of fact in relation to the lot. They are statements of the
opinion of Whyte’s, and attention is particularly drawn to clause 5 set out
below. Comments and opinions, which may be found in or on lots as labels,
notes, lists, catalogue prices, or any other means of expression, do not
constitute part of lot descriptions and are not to be taken as such unless they
are made or specifically verified by Whyte’s.
Clause 1
(a) Each lot is put up subject to any reserve price imposed by the vendor
(b) Subject to sub-clause (a) of this clause, the highest bidder for each lot shall
be the buyer thereof
(c) If any dispute arises as to the highest bidder the auctioneer shall have
absolute discretion to determine the dispute and may put up again and re-sell
the lot in respect of which the dispute arises
Clause 2
(a) The bidding and advances shall be regulated by and at the absolute
discretion of the auctioneer and he shall have the right to refuse any bid or
bids. NOTE: Where an agent bids, even on behalf of a disclosed client, the
auctioneer nevertheless has the right at his discretion to refuse any such bid.
(b) The buyer of each lot shall immediately on its sale, if required by the
auctioneer, give him the name and address of the buyer and pay to Whyte’s at
his discretion the whole or part of the purchase money. If the buyer of any lot
fails to comply with any such requirement Whyte’s may put up again and resell
the lot; if upon such re-sale a lower price is obtained than was obtained on
the first sale the buyer in default on the first sale shall make good the
difference in price and expenses of re-sale which shall become a debt due from
him.
(c) Where an agent purchases on behalf of an undisclosed client such agent
shall be personally liable for payment of the purchase money to Whyte’s and
for safe delivery of the lot to the said client.
Clause 3
(a) Whyte’s reserves the rights to bid on behalf of clients including vendors,
but shall not be liable for errors or omissions in executing instructions to bid.
(b) Whyte’s reserves the rights, before or during a sale, to group together lots
belonging to the same vendor, to split up and to withdraw any lot or lots at
Whyte’s absolute discretion and without giving any reason in any case.
(c) Whyte’s acts as agent only, and therefore shall not be liable for any default
of the buyer or vendor.
Clause 4
(a) Each lot shall be at the buyer’s risk from the fall of the hammer and shall
be paid for in full before delivery and taken away at his expense within one
day of the sale. The buyer will be responsible for all removal, storage and
insurance charges in respect of any lot which has not been collected within
one day of the date of sale.
(b) If any buyer fails to pay in full for any lot within 14 days of the date of
sale such lot may at any time thereafter at Whyte’s discretion be put up for
sale by auction again or sold privately; if upon such re-sale a lower price is
obtained than was obtained on the first sale the buyer in default on the first
sale shall make good the difference in price and the expenses of re-sale which
shall become debt due from him.
(c) Interest at 2 per cent per month and legal costs (if any) for recovery of
monies due shall be payable by the buyer on any overdue account.
Clause 5
(a) All lots are made available for inspection before each sale and each buyer,
by making a bid, acknowledges that he has satisfied himself as to the physical
condition, age and catalogue description of each lot (including but not
restricted to whether the lot is damaged or has been repaired or restored).
(b) All lots are sold with all faults and imperfections and errors of description
and Whyte’s and its employees, servants or agents shall not be responsible for
any error of description or for the condition or authenticity of any lot, save for
Clause 5 (c) below.
Written or verbal condition reports may be supplied by Whyte’s on request but
these are merely statements of opinion, and any error or omission in these
reports may not be taken as grounds for a cancellation of sale or refund of any
part of the purchase price or the cost of any repairs to the lot or lots reported
on
(c) If any lot sold at this auction is subsequently proved to be a “deliberate
forgery”, Whyte’s will cancel the sale and refund to the buyer the total amount paid by the buyer for the item, in the currency of the original sale. The onus of
proving a lot to be a “deliberate forgery” is on the buyer. For these purposes,
“deliberate forgery” means a lot that in Whyte’s reasonable opinion is an
imitation created to deceive as to authorship, where the correct description of
such authorship is not reflected by the description in the catalogue (taking
into account any Glossary of Terms). No lot shall be considered a deliberate
forgery by reason only of any damage and/or restoration and/or modification
work of any kind (including repainting or overpainting).This guarantee does not
apply if (i) either the catalogue description was in accordance with the
generally accepted opinions of scholars and experts at the date of the sale, or
the catalogue description indicated that there was a conflict of such opinions;
(ii) or the only method of establishing at the date of the sale that the item was
a counterfeit would have been by means of processes not then generally
available or accepted, unreasonably expensive or impractical to use; or likely to
have caused damage to the lot or likely (in Whyte’s reasonable opinion) to
have caused loss of value to the lot; or (iii) there has been no material loss in
value of the lot from its value had it been in accordance with its description.
This guarantee is provided for a period of seven (7) years after the date of the
relevant auction, is solely for the benefit of the buyer and may not be
transferred to any third party. Whyte’s has discretion to extend the guarantee
for a longer period. To be able to claim under this Guarantee, the buyer must
(i) notify Whyte’s in writing within three (3) weeks of receiving any
information that causes the buyer to question the authenticity or attribution
of the item, specifying the lot number, date of the auction at which it was
purchased and the reasons why it is thought to be a deliberate forgery; and (ii)
return the item to Whyte’s in the same condition as the date of the sale to the
buyer and be able to transfer good title in the item, free from the third party
claims arising after the date of the sale. Whyte’s has discretion to waive any of
the above requirements. Whyte’s may require the buyer to obtain at the
buyer’s cost the reports of two independent and recognised experts in the
field, mutually acceptable to Whyte’s and the buyer. Whyte’s shall not be
bound by any reports produced by the buyer, and reserves the right to seek
additional expert advice at its own expense. In the event Whyte’s decides to
rescind the sale under this Guarantee, it may refund the buyer the reasonable
costs of up to two mutually approved independent expert reports.
(d) Any lot listed as a “mixed lot, collection, range, portfolio etc.” or stated to
comprise or contain a collection or range of items which are not described
shall be put up for sale not subject to rejection and shall be taken by the buyer
with all (if any) faults, lack of genuineness and errors of description and
numbers of items in the lot, and the buyer shall have no right to reject the lot;
except that, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this sub-clause, where
before a sale a person intending to bid at the sale gives notice in writing to,
and satisfies Whyte’s that any such lot contains any item or items not
described in the sale catalogue and that person specifically describes that item
or those items in that notice, then that item or those items shall, as between
Whyte’s and that person, to be taken to form part of the description of the lot.
Clause 6
The respective rights and obligations of the parties shall be governed and
interpreted by Irish law, and the buyer hereby submits to the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Irish Courts.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
(a) The buyer shall pay Whyte’s a commission at the rate of 16.53% (which
excludes VAT at 21% under The Margin Scheme and which is not reclaimable)
of the purchase price.
(b) Whyte’s or its employees, servants or agents may, on request organise
packing and shipping of lots purchased or may order on the buyer’s behalf
third parties to pack or ship purchases. Under no circumstances does Whyte’s
accept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage howsoever occasioned
in the course of such service.
(c) The buyer authorises Whyte’s to use any photographs or illustrations of any
lot purchased for any or all purposes as Whyte’s may require.
The placing of a bid will be taken as full agreement to all the above conditions.
WHYTE & SONS AUCTIONEERS LIMITED
38 Molesworth Street,
Dublin 2