Why Collect Irish Maps?
It is amazing that a piece of furniture in an Irish home that is over 100 or 200 years old can be appreciated as a special and prized possession, whereas maps, these wonderful pieces of art on paper; a medium that is infinitely more delicate and ephemeral, as well as beautiful, (subjective) does not command the same level of desirability, or the same degree of respect.
Maybe it is that old colonial thing, you know, history is written by the conquerors, and in Ireland's case the maps were usually made by our colonial masters. I don't really know. Because what ever it was, and I say was, it's not there anymore.
There has been a sea-change in Irish attitudes to collecting maps. Especially the area of collecting maps in relation to Ireland.
Sure enough, there have always been people interested in maps of Ireland. It was like an AA meeting sometimes, going from auction to auction, seeing the same faces, bidding against each other time and again. But a number of years ago new faces started to appear around the auctions and fairs. A lot of new faces.
And with more people entering the fray, it was inevitable that prices would rise. Supply and demand, more buyers, less items, translates into higher prices in anyone's language.
This was the case internationally as well. You only have to look at the prices being charged by foreign dealers, and their turnover of stock with Irish items to realize that there was/is a run on Irish cartographic material. This is also the case with international auctioneers.
What has happened ?
Well, one could put it down to the economic miracle that was Celtic Tiger, but that would be too simplistic.
Sure, you can look at other areas of the Fine Art Market and see the massive rises which have occurred there. With all that money sloshing about, and with so many people with more money than sense, there was a certain level of inevitability about the fact that that money would eventually turn towards the market in maps relating to Ireland.
But one really has to take changing attitudes into account more than the greater level of affluence.
With a new peace, a new Ireland and a diaspora that has extended to all parts of the world, the Irish as a nation, whilst having one eye on the future, has been showing an increasing level of interest in the past. This has shown itself in many areas of collecting. Most notably in recent years, in relation to items connected with Irish independence, and the civil war. The dizzying prices being paid for 1916 proclamations being just one case in point.
In relation to Irish maps, however, it does mean that it is a little harder for both novice and serious collector alike to source quality items at reasonable prices, than it was say 10 years ago. But there are bargains out there, and there are quality items still available, without one having to resort to taking out bank loans to fund your purchases.
On a purely technical level, it must be said however, that Irish maps as a whole are actually much scarcer than maps of say Europe or indeed England. Because of our checkered history there were far less maps produced of Ireland as a whole than any other country in Europe. And of course there was a bigger attrition rate.
One more reason that Irish maps command a premium in relation other countries.
