Books

London: Benjamin Motte, 1726. First editions of Jonathan Swift’s masterpiece, Gulliver’s Travels. Octavo, two volumes, bound in three quarters contemporary calf over marbled boards, engraved frontispiece of Lemuel Gulliver, woodcut initials, five engraved maps, gilt titles to the spine. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom cloth slipcase. Bookplate to the pastedown and period ownership signature to each volume. Both volumes are the Teerink B edition. A very nice example of this classic in English literature. Jonathan Swift's masterpiece will "last as long as the language, because it describes the vices of man in all nations" (DNB). "A remarkable feat in the creation of imaginary worlds as a vehicle for satire upon the political and religious establishments of the day" (Clute & Grant, 914). "Gulliver's Travels has given Swift an immortality beyond temporary fame". For every edition designed for the reader with an eye to the historical background, 20 have…

Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, by Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known as Gulliver's Travels (1726, amended 1735), is a prose satire by Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, satirizing both human nature and the 'travellers' tales' literary subgenre.