National Library of Ireland

A friend went to the National Library of Ireland to look at the Donnelly items there . Here is his report :

" I spent a very interesting time making a preliminary examination of Manuscripts Reference 5625 and 5626 containing material created or collected by Ivon A. Donnelly.

The two items are essentially black , well bound scrap books with the words "CHINESE JUNKS" inscribed in gold lettering on their spines.On the inside cover of each is printed , "A.J.SEREBRENNIKOV & CO., PRINTERS ,BOOKBINDERS,STATIONERS,TIENTSIN".

In each of the two books is affixed a wide variety of photographs , drawings and a few quite detailed drawings illustrating boat structure.Each item is described in handwriting. The photographs are all black and white although a few of them have been coloured after printing.

Manuscript 5625 has 103 stiff unlined pages.It contains 167 photographs , 97 drawings and 5 structure drawings. Manuscript 5626 has 70 lined pages - the paper is somewhat thinner.It contains 110 photographs , 13 drawings and 1 structure drawing. I am no artist but to my untrained eye the drawing seems to be of very high quality.

There are a very few written notes here and there which may be of interest. Two of them suggest that Ivon seems to have been in hospital in late 1944 and early 1945. there are two greeting cards received by him , one of which is dedicated , "with high regard for the authority on Chinese junks".

There is a note which suggests that it is accompanying payment for 4 pages of work , ordering another and expressing interest in a further one.

There is also a page recording part of a voyage beginning at midnight on 26/6/32 from Taku Bar .There are 23 entries the final one being , "4/7/32 6 . 40 am . Waglan abeam".

Ivon also seems to have tried his hand at poetry. Two are handwritten in Manuscript 5626.

LORCHAS

The lorcha is a hybrid that hails from old Macao
With an oriental stern and an occidental bow
From the Pearl River Delta in the South to the Yangtze mouth
You will meet them beating up the coast.

The lorcha is a hybrid that hails from old Macao
With an oriental stern and an occidental bow
She is rigged with a Lugsail favoured most by Chinese Craft
And often has a stumpy bowsprit and mizzensail right aft.

ANTUNG LUMBER JUNK

We have floundered off the Yalu river awash with sodden deels
We have slipped away from Kiaschow Bay with a "Norther"at our heels
We've ratched off the Yangtze's mouth with barely a rag on our poles
And dipped our gunwales under to the long pacific rolls
We've dodged the fate of a dread typhoon
By slipping into shelter not a moment too soon.

According to the Library the only information they have on the provenance of these items is an entry " John Galvin 1963". "

I am looking into getting good copies of each page of these two Manuscripts.