Capt. Lemuel Gulliver’s Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. Parts I. and II.; Parts III. and IV. In: The Works of Dr. Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick’s, Dublin. Vol. II & III. London: For C. Bathurst, 1751.
Two volumes. Twelvemo. xxiv, 224, [4]; x, 3-244 pp. With engraved frontispiece portrait in part I, 6 engraved plates (5 maps) and 4 pp. publisher’s advertisements. Full contemporary speckled calf, spines gilt in compartments with morocco labels. Joints slightly cracked, some worming running through introduction (touching frontis, title and first plate), otherwise a charming copy. From the library of Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1715-86), with his engraved bookplate featuring the Percy family crest in both volumes.
Taken from an early edition of The Works of Dr. Jonathan Swift, these two volumes containing Gulliver’s Travels are complete in and of themselves. This edition, which contains twelve other volumes, is noteworthy for being the first to place Gulliver’s Travels towards the beginning of the set, rather than in its usual spot towards the end. First published in 1726, this work, which was both a parody of many of the then-popular travel tales (such as Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe) the as well as a satire of human nature, was and continues to be wildly popular. It has seen countless editions and translations, has been adapted numerous times for film, televisions and theatre, and has made an indelible mark upon modern culture.
Swift (1667-1754) was an Irish cleric, political pamphleteer and essayist known for being one of the greatest satirists of the English language. While he is probably most famous for the present work, as well as A Tale of a Tub, The Battle of the Books, and The Drapier’s Letters, he also leaves behind a large corpus of poetry, essays, and tracts.
Teerink, A Bibliography of the Writings of Jonathan Swift, 82
ID:
3706
$
900