This is a collection of extraordinary interest and value. It reflects the lifetime interests of William McCready of Whiteabbey, County Antrim. His interests were in the higher reaches of contemporary literature, his favourite authors included T. E. Lawrence, Edmund Blunden, Walter De La Mare, George Moore and W. B. Yeats. McCready corresponded with many of the authors whose work he collected and acquired autographed copies of their most famous works. A key aspect of his purchasing was the physical quality of the book. He liked books which were "well printed and artistically bound".
The collection includes "first or limited editions of works by many of the leading authors of the early twentieth century, with associated autograph letters; of particular interest is the material relative to Shaw and Forrest Reid".
Of the 5,000 items listed in McCready's manuscript catalogues, the Linen Hall Library acquired 1,050 volumes, together with all his autograph letters, catalogues and diaries of meetings with Forrest Reid.
http://www.linenhall.com - select Catalogue
![MS11/23 - Eire. Constitution. Draft. Dublin: Published by the Stationery Office: Printed by Cahill & Co., [1937] Annotated by T.F. O’Rahilly. MS. Inscription by Éamon de Valera Thanking O’Rahilly for his Assistance](/sites/default/files/styles/media_crop/public/2018-04/MS11-23.jpg?itok=P7V_xvTZ)
