PREFACE
Prefaces allowed the author to give personal remarks about the text, often ending in a paragraph of acknowledgements. New editions will have new prefaces in order to situate any changes or material added to the book.
This preface indicates that after the death of the author, T. Crofton Croker, his friend Thomas Wright, compiled and edited the edition as it now is in this book. There is a preface that Croker wrote for this book, but passed before he could complete the compilation of the legends he desired.
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OWNERSHIP MARK
Ownership marks, though similar to marginalia, are usually that of names or places not associated with the text they are near to. They are not always handwritten, though of course it all depends; some can be stamps or simply initials. Bookplates are not ownership marks, though they mark ownership.
The ownership mark, in the blue pen, reads "y F. Kiely" as a corner of the page is missing. Luckily, it is easy for family to determine that the missing name is Mary, who probably bought the book in Dublin for research, since she was a writer of Irish legendary stories. There is another note next to it in an obviously very different hand, is illegible to me and it is unclear what it may be referring to, or even if it is in English.
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PAPER
Wood-pulp paper, which was cheaper at this time and easier to produce than rag paper of the past, would have been cut into large sheets that were then folded down by the printer after the printing was done and compiled into the corrected collation for the book.
The unfortunate part about wood pulp paper, and paper like this that we still use to this day, is that the acid content within it is so heavy that it will eventually disintegrate even if it is barely used. It also contributes to the frailty of the paper which will break as you turn pages and start to flake with time. These pages already show plenty of wear and many are torn from their quires.
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