DUN EMER PRESS: EGLINTON, John.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Some Essays and Passages. First edition, first impression, one of 200 copies. John Eglinton was the pen name of William Kirkpatrick Magee (1868-1961), a schoolfriend of Yeats. A note was added at his request, humorously objecting to "the inclusion of the last essay, written over twelve years ago, in which a metaphor is pressed to the point of being recommended as a gospel".The head librarian of the National Library of Ireland, Magee was an active participant in the Irish Literary Revival, vocally opposing the "cultural nationalism" of the Celtic Revival, and, like James Joyce, supporting a more European intellectual focus. He co-founded and served as editor for the literary journal Dana: An Irish Magazine of Independent Thought.The Dun Emer Press was named for co-founder Evelyn Gleeson's home in Dundrum, near Dublin. The press, established with Lily and Elizabeth Yeats in late 1902, ran alongside an embroidery and rug making workshop. Eleven titles were released under the Dun Emer imprint, which was renamed the Cuala Press when the Yeats sisters split from Gleeson in 1908.This copy is from the library of Louis Claude Purser (1854-1932), brother of the artist Sarah Purser. A fellow classics student with Oscar Wilde at school, Purser was appointed professor of Latin at Trinity College, Dublin, and later served as president of the Royal Irish Academy. Elizabeth Yeats was his closest female friend.

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