A Tour in Ireland with General Observations on the Present State of That Kingdom: made in the Years 1776, 1777 and 1778: and Brought down to the End of 1779.
London. Printed for T. Cadell. 1780. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 4to, 28.2cm, the First Edition, ,xi,[7],(subscriber's),384,168,[4]p., appendix, index, with 2 copper engraved plates, in contemporary full mottled polished calf, gilt ruled raised bands, crushed green morocco label, gilt titles, some amount of worming on the final few leaves, some wear on the board edges and some random mottled wear on the boards still a near fine antique copy. (cgc) Young, Arthur (1741 1820), agricultural reformer and writer. By 1776 Young felt he needed a new field of interest and he decided on a visit to Ireland, a project he had been thinking of for some time. Armed with letters of introduction, he travelled widely, returning home in October of that year 'without a shilling' (Autobiography, 81 2). However, by the following summer he was able to return in the capacity of resident agent to Lord Kings-borough, with responsibility for supervising a huge estate at Michelstown to the north of Cork. He now gave up Bradmore Farm, but his new career proved to be short lived. He was at Michelstown for only a year, although in that time he set ambitious improvements to the estate. The cause of his leaving the post so quickly is obscure, but he returned to Bradfield on 1 January 1779 to work on his A Tour in Ireland with an annuity of 72 a year in lieu of his arrears of salary. The book appeared in 1780, was well received at the time, and has since become a valuable source as one of the few accounts of conditions in Ireland at this time. Among other subjects Young had much to say on commercial policy and the activities of the Dublin Society; and in addition Young attacked the practice of subletting land to middlemen and made some interesting observations on the living conditions of the poor. - DNB. Item #29378
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