Statistical Survey of the County of Wexford. Draw up for the Consideration, and by Order of The Royal Dublin Society. Dublin: R. Grainsberry, 1807. First Edition. Pp vi, 156. Contemporary half calf marbled boards, rebackes, new endpapers. Ex library copy, with ink stamps & with occasional label residue to endpapers. Contents pages in nice bright condition.

Illustrated with a folded map of Wexford. One of the scarcest in this famous series of the Royal Dublin Society’s statistical surveys.

The Irish Statistical Survey was carried out under the direction of the Royal Dublin Society. Each county was surveyed with the aim of determining the ‘actual state, capabilities and defects of agriculture, manufactures and rural economy’. In practice the surveys contained a vast quantity of local information on almost every aspect of the county surveyed. Because these studies were carried out under central direction the quality of the information provided is good, and given their early date, they remain an invaluable source for the study of each county. They record many details about conditions in pre-Famine Ireland, including social and economic conditions, the growth of population and poverty, education, religion, history, the Irish language and local customs.