Ogham Inscriptions in Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1887. First Edition. Pp xi, 164, [adverts]. Publisher’s brown cloth boards, title in gilt to spine. A nice bright copy.

A seminal work on the subject, representing the culmination of a lifetime of dedicated antiquarian study.

Published posthumously in 1887, this book is the definitive record of the earliest form of writing in Ireland and parts of Britain. It records the inscriptions and provides a critical key to understanding this unique ancient alphabet. The book resulted from decades of fieldwork, during which Ferguson, a noted antiquarian and President of the Royal Irish Academy, spent his holidays meticulously documenting Ogham stones.

By the time of its publication, Samuel Ferguson (1810-1886) was already a towering figure in Irish cultural life. A barrister and poet, he was a key precursor to the Irish Literary Revival, with W.B. Yeats hailing him as “the greatest poet Ireland has produced“