The occupation of Austin Cooper (1759-1830) as one of His Majesty's tax collectors working in Dublin enabled the young Cooper to indulge the greatest passion of his life - sketching the ancient buildings and monuments of Ireland.

From 1781 to 1793, this dedicated and prolific artist focused on Ireland's castles, abbeys, churches and round towers, both complete and ruined, and filled two albums with pen-and-ink drawings. This volume gathers together Cooper's work in its entirety.

Dr Peter Harbison provides extended captions and quotes from Cooper's own diaries. These illuminate the work of a man who did so much to help preserve a heritage that was already disappearing, even in his own time.