This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/25/2023
MAGRATH, Cornelius (1737 – 60). Ein Irrlandischer RiEse (An Irish Giant). [Regensburg]: [Johann Nepomuk] Maag, ca. 1756. Engraved full-length portrait of the Irish giant, standing beside and towering over a well-dressed Prussian Grenadier. Framed to 20 ¼ x 17”, sight 15 x 11 ½”. Not examined out of frame. Afflicted with a rare pituitary disorder, Magrath grew so quickly that in just one year, between the ages of 15 and 16, he sprang from five feet in height to 6’ 8 ¾” (though some reports state that he grew as much as 21 inches that year). Convinced to exhibit himself before the public for pay, by 1753 he was touring England and not long thereafter, the European continent. He died in Dublin at the age of just 23. Upon his death, and after the dissection of his body, Magrath’s bones were preserved. They are today a part of the anatomical collection of Trinity College Dublin.