This beautifully illustrated hardback bound copy of the Official Handbook of the Irish Free State was published in 1932, by The Talbot Press. “This book has been written under the general direction of a committee appointed by the Minister for Industry and Commerce.
Its aim is to give an account of the Irish Free State as it is to-day, and to give also the necessary historical background without which an understanding of modern Ireland would not be possible.” The book was edited by Bulmer Hobson, printed on paper from Swiftbrook Mills, Dublin with plates by the Irish Photo Engraving Company, Dublin.
The book is filled with woodblock engravings of illustrations by notable artists including Paul Henry, John Keating, Sean O’Sullivan, Maurice MacGonigal and Henry Kernoff. Thirty-three chapters compiled by contributors including Eoin MacNeill, R.L. Praegar, George O’Brien, A. Mahr, J.H. Delargy and C.P. Curran. The fly leaf contains a Déanta in Éirinn stamp.
