Cooper's Ireland: Drawings and Notes from an Eighteenth-Century Gentleman

Austin Cooper's beautiful and unique drawings of Ireland's architectural treasures are gathered together for the first time in this rare collection. During the late 18th century, Cooper was one of His Majesty's tax collectors. It was in this position that young Cooper was able to travel the Emerald Isle and indulge in the greatest passion of his life-sketching the ancient buildings and monuments of Ireland. From 1781 to 1793, this prolific artist focused on Ireland's castles, abbeys, churches, and round towers, both complete and ruined, and filled two albums with brilliantly executed pen-and-ink drawings. Cooper's descendents passed on his manuscripts from generation to generation until they were bought by the National Library of Ireland. This architectural record, which includes extended captions and quotes from Cooper's own diaries as well as some modern photographs of the places sketched by Cooper, creates a unique and irreplaceable memoir.