The History of Limerick, Ecclesiastical Civil and Military. Illustrated by Fifteen Engravings. To which are Added The Charter of Limerick, and An Essay on Castle Connell Spa, on Water in General and Cold Bathing. Limerick (A. Watson & Co.) 1787. First Edition. Pp xviii, 492. Recased retaining original calf boards & spine. Ex library copy, with faint ink stamps. Contents in fine bright condition, complete with all plates.

Illustrated with a large folded map of Limerick City, a folded frontispiece view, and eleven plates (including a folded map of Co. Limerick) & two engraved dedication pages.

A native of limerick, John Ferar was one the more significant provincial book and newspaper publishers in Ireland during the 1760s and 1770s and an important historian of Limerick. In 1767 he published a small quarto volume entitled ‘A History of the City of Limerick,’ which is the earliest printed history of the city. He greatly expanded on this edition in ‘The History of Limerick, Ecclesiastical Civil and Military’ illustrated with fifteen engravings, including a fine map of the city, and an essay on the spa at Castleconnell.

Desirous to promote the manufactures of Ireland, he ensured that the paper used for almost all copies of his book was made in Dublin, and obtained at least 350 advance subscriptions.