The Ivo de Vesci Collection consists of approximately 4000 photographic negatives. The images were captured by Ivo, 5th Viscount de Vesci, between about 1900 and 1957. Ivo de Vesci succeeded his uncle John, 4th Viscount de Vesci in 1903, inheriting the family estate in Abbeyleix, County Laois. For more information on the life of Ivo de Vesci click on the link here.
Ivo was a prolific photographer and visually recorded all aspects of his life, including family, society, foreign travel and estate management. The collection, which spans over five decades, captures a period in which the local, social, political and economic landscape of Ireland was changing rapidly.
The collection, which is part of the De Vesci family archive, belongs to Tom, 7th Viscount de Vesci. Recognising the potential of Ivo’s collection for historical research Tom de Vesci generously offered Laois Local Studies the opportunity to digitise the collection and make it available to the public through the Laois Local Studies Digital Archive. Laois County Library would like to thank Tom de Vesci for his generosity in sharing this remarkable collection.
The digitisation project was supported by the Heritage Council under the Heritage Stewardship Fund 2022 and Laois County Council. The project enhances access to the public of a privately held collection and ensures the survival of the images by creating a preservation copy digitally. Tom de Vesci is copyright owner of the Ivo de Vesci Collection and images cannot be reproduced without his permission.
A talk on the digitisation of the collection was given by Sinead Holland, Laois Local Studies, as part of Heritage Week 2022. The images below were exhibited on the night with insightful remarks by Tom de Vesci. The event can be viewed by following the link here.
