Lot 46029 - 1846 (September 12th) – A Poignant Great Famine Letter from Cape Clear: Historically important folded entire from Cape Clear, Co. Cork, via Skibbereen to Kingstown, Co. Dublin, written by James Geoffrey, Government super

1846 (September 12th) – A Poignant Great Famine Letter from Cape Clear: Historically important folded entire from Cape Clear, Co. Cork, via Skibbereen to Kingstown, Co. Dublin, written by James Geoffrey, Government supervisor of the harbour works for the construction of the island’s north and south harbours. The remarkable contents provide a vivid contemporary account of the worsening Great Famine, Geoffrey reporting that he had already employed 36 men, but that “there are 50 or 60 men” still begging for work “at 8d per day” and starving. A powerful first-hand testimony to the desperate search for employment and relief in one of the areas hardest affected by the Famine. A highly evocative and important item for the Irish social or Famine historian.