IRISHWOMEN’S GIFT TO THE QUEEN.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 17, 5 September 1911, Page 7

IRISHWOMEN’S GIFT TO THE QUEEN.

FINE EXAMPLE OF BOOK ILLUMINATION. The seven volumes, one containing in address of welcom;. the oilier six the signatures of over 165,000 irishwomen, which were presented |o Juoen Mary in Dublin along with;;a •use of Irish satinwood, beautifully: inlaid in Sheraton’s best style, 1 wire m view at Lord Aberdeen’s , house, Ely Place, Dublin. The volume containing the address was bound by Miss Eleanor Kelly, who was presentid to Tier Majesty when the volumes wore handed over. It is a line specimen of the handbindor’s art, in St. Patrick’s blue morocco. The Roy,il crown and “M” in the centre are mcircled by a wreath of may-blos-soms, Queen Mary’s name-flower, entwined with shamrocks'. In the ooraers are symbols of tlie four winds, ’..he wind being chosen by the women of Ireland to express to their Queen the greeting of their hearts, since “it Is tlie one element alone that pervades their land and searches every hearth vnd homo and every open plain.” The :over shows in symbol ' “the strong, dark wind from the north; the mild, .vhitc wind fom the south; the sh'd, .mown wind from the west; the ffeslli •ed wind from the east; all mingling their breath and in unison blowing ustice, love, mercy, and courage! in golden shower of hope on the jewelled crown of Qveon Many.” , Each page of signature is adqrppd with broad bands mf Celtic illumination, and with exquisite little, landscapes' in colour,'' representing | typical Irish glens, lakes, mountains, villages,, uul castles. ‘Tflie ] “bookphite.Vebor first page of tlle'blddress, has' 'Quden Mary’s coat-of-arars, 1 ' blazoned in the proper heraldic colours;; the Royal armg,, being quartered .with those of the Duke of Teck, while! the shield containing them is surrounded by the darter with its motto in blue and gold ind surmounted by the Queen’s crown. May-.blossonis in nhtpral colony, wyith the letter “M” in Celtic rune and the month and , yegr of presentation ilso appear on the page. Quaint animal forms and Celtic jnterlacings in the style of the “Book of Kells”—that treasure house of mediaeval Irish art, now in the library of Trinity College; Dublin—appear on the title page, which, like the page with the Address itself, is a marvel of exquisite colqur in gold and silver. The entire.workmanship of the hook proves that the art of missal illuminative work, which was one of the glories of Ireland of v bygone age, still flourishes in the lountry. The illuminations in this volume and in the volumes containing the signatures are from designs by Mr James Ward, headmaster of tlie .Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin, under whose direction the whole work has been carried out.