1962 cover-up for Bond girl

Viewing continues today, until 5pm, at Whyte's, Molesworth Street, Dublin for the year's first, and much-anticipated, sale of historical memorabilia. The auction, with more than 900 lots, takes place tomorrow, Sunday, in the nearby Freemasons' Hall.

There is considerable interest in Lot 234A, a collection of diaries and letters by Sir Alfred Irwin, a Roscommon-born judge in British Imperial Burma who retired to Ailesbury Road in Dublin 4. It includes a letter recounting his dramatic eye-witness account of the 1916 Easter Rising. The estimate is €1,500-€1,800.

Often, the most interesting historical insights can be gleaned from ephemera. A batch of early 20th-century postcards, estimated at just €100-€150, includes views of the monastery of Our Lady of Charity of Refuge, Gloucester Street, Dublin, better-known as a Magdalene laundry.

Other highlights include an 18th-century carved penal cross from Co Monaghan (€1,000- €1,500); first World War medals awarded to soldiers in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Royal Munster Fusiliers and the Connaught Rangers (€50-€250); a juror notice for the inquest on Roger Casement, which took place hours after his hanging (€800-€1,200); a 1962 poster for the first James Bond movie, Dr No, with a dress hand-painted over the original bikini-clad image of Ursula Andress, and described by the auctioneers as "the dying vestige of Irish censorship" (€600-€800).

Among the sporting memorabilia is a 1967 All-Ireland final hurling medal to a member of the Kilkenny team (€1,500-€2,000). The literature section includes a rare first edition of Dracula by Bram Stoker (€5,000-€7,000) and a first edition of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (€4,000-€6,000).

Whyte's History, Literature and Collectibles Auction, Sunday, March 9th, 11am at the Freemason's Hall, 17 Molesworth Street, Dublin. See whytes.ie.