- 278
Swift, Jonathan
Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Swift, Jonathan
- An epistle upon an epistle from a certain doctor to a certain greatlord: being a Christmas-box for D. D---ny. Dublin: printed in the year 1730. 8 pp. Sm. 8vo,disbound.
- paper
8vo, 8pp., first edition, disbound, outer margins cut close, a few minor stains
Literature
Foxon S842; Teerink 684; Rothschild 2117.
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
The rare first salvo in a brief poetical squabble. No other copy has appeared on the market in the last fifty years. When Swift settled in Dublin after the death of Queen Anne, he soon became a close friend of a fellow divine, Patrick Delany, and the two amused one another from time to time with a succession of poetical trifles. Delany rose in the Irish church hierarchy, but his extravagant lifestyle was a strain upon his income, and in 1729 he addressed a poem to Lord Carteret, then Lord Chancellor, in which he asked for further preferment. Swift judged that his friend's behaviour was that of a courtier not a churchman and took him to task in this poem, and others, for his vanity and subservience; others quickly joined in the fun, but in the end Swift was moved to defend his friend against the various "libels" to which he had been subjected. This is the only separate printing of this poem, and it provides the authoritative text; later the same year it was reprinted several times, either with Delany's original Epistle, or with one or another of the squibs it called forth. The ESTC lists copies in eight libraries. See also the next two lots.