Trinity College Dublin N/A

Trinity College Dublin was founded in 1591 by Queen Elizabeth, the patent passing the great seal on the 3rd March, at the instance of Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin, who became the first Provost. The monastery of All Hallows was obtained as a site for the College, the first stone being laid by Thomas Smith, Mayor of Dublin, on 13 March. The first students were admitted 9 January 1593. In 1661, the library of Archbishop Ussher, which had been bought by the state during the Commonwealth, partly with money raised by the army in Ireland, was given to Trinity as the gift of Charles II. The eighteenth century saw something of a renaissance in the affairs of the College. A new library was built between 1709 and 1733, and a University Press commenced, the first book appearing in 1738. The stamps were cut for the premium scheme, which was introduced in 1731 at the recommendation of the Reverend Samuel Madden. His original idea was to give money prizes, but in practice the prizes were almost entirely of books. Many of the stamps are illustrated in Joseph McDonnell and Patrick Healy. Gold tooled bookbindings commissioned by Trinity College Dublin in the eighteenth century. Leixlip, 1987 (Studies of the History of Irish Bookbinding 1).