An Essay Upon the Life, Writings, and Character, Of Dr. Jonathan Swift. de SWIFT (Deane) and SWIFT (Jonathan)

Interspersed with some occasional Animadversions Upon the Remarks of a late critical Author, And upon the Observations of an anonymous Writer on those Remarks. By Deane Swift, Esq; [sic] To which is added, That Sketch of Dr. Swift’s Life, written by the Doctor himself, which was lately presented By the Author of this Essay to the University Of Dublin. London, Printed for Charles Bathurst, at the Cross-Keys, Opposite St. Dunstan’s Church in Fleetstreet [sic]. 1755. Demy 8vo; blank before half-title; Errata leaf at end; pp.[vi (unpaged)]+375+[i (publisher’s advertisements)]+53 (last page Errata)+[i (blank)]; [A]³, B - I, K - U, X -Z, Aa⁸, Bb⁴; [2]A - [2]C⁸, [2]D³; original blue-grey paper covered boards, cream paper spine, label; a.e. uncut. Recently re-backed with period paper in imitation of the original, and with new end-papers of period paper; original boards a little scuffed and marked; Q7 and 8, and R1, 2, 3, and 4 show some foxing to blank lower margins; S4 and S5 slit from the lower margins into text (v. note) this being repaired without the use of tissue and without loss of text; flaw in blank lower margin of 2A6; otherwise a very nice copy. The first state of text, with S4 and S5 slit for cancellation, but not cancelled, l.18 on p.263 reading ‘Dean WINTER’ in upper and lower case instead of ‘DEAN WINTER’ all in upper case. This is sufficient to distinguish the cancels, but there are other differences: the catchwords on pp.263, 264, and 265 reading respectively here ‘extreamly’, ‘VANESSA’S’, and ‘the’ rather than ‘have’, ‘HERSED’, and ‘gion’, the text being also differently arranged, the first prose paragraph on p.265 being moved in the cancel and run on after ‘concubine’ at the foot of p.263 and top of p.264. CBEL, II, p.581; Rothschild, 1989; Teerink-Scouten, 1345; ESTC, T148532: none of these noting the cancels. With the initial blank not present in the rebound Rothschild copy, but without the two added leaves of trade (R. Thyer) advertisements present there. Coincidences of the chainlines combined with faint off-printing suggest that the Errata leaf, though numbered as p.53 of the second part, was actually printed as A2 of the first part (the prelims. having, as usual, been printed last), the present A2 and A3 being actually A3 and A4, and together with the four leaves of gathering Bb completing a full sheet, whilst gathering D of the second part was printed as a separate quarter sheet. In this copy F3 is signed E3; p.19 is paged 16; p159, 195; p.209, 181; p.212, 184; p.213, 177; p.216, 180; p.217, 189; p.226, 227; p.274, 275 and p.275, 274 the first letter of the first three lines on p.164 is raised above the line: all this as in every copy we have seen. The page number to p.93 is here perfect, however, suggesting perhaps an early state, as in some other copies seen it has been badly battered. The first biography of Swift, written by Deane Swift, the father of Theophilus and the cousin of Jonathan. It treats in especial of the great satirist’s relations to his contemporaries. Included in the text are unpublished letters from Dr. Swift, and a good deal of material by others of his circle, (among this a poem by ‘Stella’). The front blank bears the contemporary inscription ‘D: N: 1755 - Read’ All books listed by Robert Temple are first editions unless otherwise stated.