On the Short List!

For 590 RBL, I had to suggest a book that would fit into the University of Illinois Rare Books and Manuscript Library from some old catalogs. The class then would pick out 5 of the top recommended books, and vote for one to be potentially bought by the RBML. Now, the catalogs are old, and it would have to go through an official RBML recommentaion panel, so its not certain that they would end up buying it.

Guess what- mine is on the short list! I am super excited that my recommendation was picked. Here is the paper I wrote:

Please read the rules about posted assignments before reading onward.

Irish American Radicalism At Its Best

Devyr, Tho[mas] Ainge. The Odd Book of the Ninteenth Century, or, “Chivalry”
in Modern Days, A Personal Record of Reform-Chiefly Land Reform, for the last
fifty years. 8vo, original gilt lettered brown cloth (rubbed & dull; spine
extremities little worn; inner hinges repaired), pp. [6], [2] blank, [4], [4], xxii,
211, 220, [33] Appendix, [2] blank + 3 plates Greenpoint, N. Y.: Published by
the Author, 37 Broome St., Copyright Thomas Ainge Devyr, 1882. $1250.00

After examining several catalogues, I have selected the book The Odd Book of the Ninteenth Century, or, “Chivalry” in Modern Days, A Personal Record of Reform-Chiefly Land Reform, for the last fifty years for the committee’s approval in order to purchase. It is listed in the Howard S. Mott Inc. catalogue #255 (02/09/09), a dealer who advertises to be a specialist in “Rare Books, First Editions, Americana, Literature, Unusual Imprints, Caribbean (esp. Lesser Antilles), Autograph Letters & Manuscripts.” (1) The book is signed by the author to a person thought to have worked in the newspaper Irish World. (2) I believe it will compliment two different collections the Rare Books and Special Collections at UIUC holds – the James Collins Irish collection and the collection of radical books.


The author was, as the catalogue described, a “fascinating man.” Born in Ireland, he changed careers from a London Metropolitan Police officer to an organizer of violent Chartist guerillas. In 1840 he fled to America, where he helped organize the Anti-Rent Party around Albany, New York, and edited radical newspapers. The Ireland Eye, a website on Irish news, writes that he edited a Fenian (3) newspaper based in America. (4) Fenianism was an Irish diaspora movement for an independent Irish republic in the 19th and 20th centuries. This statement is contradicted in the New York Public Library website, where it calls Devyr a “pro-British Irishman.” (5) In short, this man defined radical thought in America.


The Odd Book of the Nineteenth Century would fit well within the James Collins collection of Irish books. Devyr’s shifting identity makes him an interesting study for any scholar interested in the Irish independence movements of the 19th century, as well as Chartist movements. (6) His story could help interpret countless Irish political cartoons about the politics of his day, many which UIUC holds. He also included in the book several Irish independence songs and an Irish satire “Billy Bluff and Squire Firebrand,” a story published a century before Devyr’s book.


This book also makes an interesting study for scholars researching diaspora movements. For Irish immigrants to uphold newspapers and organizations dedicated to free Ireland outside of the country shows that the Irish diaspora was profoundly strong. Personally, as a daughter of a diaspora family, I understand the type of commitment needed to send money and people to support a person’s beliefs. The Odd Book of the Nineteenth Century could give Irish American researchers information about how these immigrants accomplished these tasks, despite their immigrant status in the United States.

This book would not just satisfy the Irish scholar, but American scholars as well. Devyr was actively trying to nationalize land in northern New York, and participated in the Anti-Rent War. This “war” over rents lasted over ten years, with Anti-Renters donning costumes inspired by the Boston Tea Party “Indians,” and created havoc at the sound of a horn. (7) The Odd Book of the Nineteenth Century would give insight into this radical American movement, a perfect addition to the Rare Book’s “radical thinking” book collection.



The listed price of $1250 is the only price I could find, as this book is listed in neither the AddALL online catalog nor the viaLibris online catalog. It is my belief that the Rare Book and Special Collection Library of the University of Illinois should take this opportunity and purchase this “eccentric masterpiece” (8) of a book.

1
ABAA, “Howard S. Mott, Inc.,” Antiquarian Booksellersʼ Association of America, http://hq.abaa.org/books/
antiquarian/bookseller/1611.html (October 25, 2009).
2
Howard S. Mott Inc. catalogue #255 (02/09/09).
3
Irelandseye.com, “The Fenian Movement,” Irelandʼs Eye, http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/history/
events/dates/fenmove.shtm (October 25, 2009).
4
“Chartists in America: tourists and political refugees,” Chartist Ancestors, http://www.chartists.net/
Chartists-in-America.htm (October 25, 2009).
5
Andrew Wilson, “At Home In Staten Island: A Tale of Two Literary Englishmen and Their Children,” New
York Public Library, http://www.nypl.org/blogs/2008/12/15/home-staten-island-tale-two-literary-
englishmen-and-their-children (October 25, 2009).
6
Chartists were one of the first working class labor movements of the world, wanting votes for working
class men and less restrictive qualifications for Parliament. Glenn Everett, “Chartism or The Chartist
Movement,” Victorian Web, http://www.victorianweb.org/history/hist3.html (October 25, 2009).
7
Nancy S. Cannon, “Reform/Conflict: The Anti-Rent Movement: Brief Introduction,” SUNY Oneonta,
http://www.oneonta.edu/library/dailylife/protest/index.html (October 25, 2009).
8
Howard S. Mott Inc. catalogue #255 (02/09/09).

Works Cited

ABAA, “Howard S. Mott, Inc.,” Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, http://
hq.abaa.org/books/antiquarian/bookseller/1611.htmll.

Cannon, Nancy S., “Reform/Conflict: The Anti-Rent Movement: Brief Introduction,” SUNY
Oneonta, http://www.oneonta.edu/library/dailylife/protest/index.html.

Chartists in America: tourists and political refugees,” Chartist Ancestors, http://
www.chartists.net/Chartists-in-America.htm.

Everett, Glenn, “Chartism or The Chartist Movement,” Victorian Web, http://
www.victorianweb.org/history/hist3.html.

Irelandseye.com, “The Fenian Movement,” Ireland’s Eye, http://www.irelandseye.com/
aarticles/history/events/dates/fenmove.shtm.

Wilson, Andrew, “At Home In Staten Island: A Tale of Two Literary Englishmen and Their
Children,” New York Public Library, http://www.nypl.org/blogs/2008/12/15/home-
staten- island-tale-two-literary-englishmen-and-their-children (October 25, 2009).

Yeah!  :D