The Poetical Works of Jonathan Swift
London: William Pickering, 1833-1834. First Edition Thus, The Aldine Edition of the British Poets. Complete in Three Volumes. Three 12mos, cxiv, 256; viii, 358; viii, 368 pages, uniformly bound in full polished calf leather, with raised bands, gilt lettering and decorative gilt tooling to the spines. Marbled endpapers and edges. Illustrated with an engraved frontispiece portrait of Jonathan Swift. A handsome three-volume collection of the poetry of Jonathan Swift (1667–1745), the celebrated Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, and clergyman, best remembered for his masterpiece Gulliver's Travels. Published as part of William Pickering's distinguished Aldine Edition of the British Poets, this edition includes a biographical memoir of Swift by the Reverend John Mitford (1781–1859), noted English clergyman, literary scholar, and editor. Although principally remembered for his prose satires, Swift was also an accomplished and prolific poet whose verse displays the same biting wit, political insight, and sharp observations of human nature that characterize his better-known writings. The collection encompasses his satirical, political, humorous, and occasional poetry, including works addressing contemporary English and Irish politics, social conventions, personal relationships, and the follies of eighteenth-century society. William Pickering (1796–1854), one of the most influential English publishers of the nineteenth century, was particularly celebrated for the elegance and typographical excellence of his publications. His Aldine series, named in tribute to the Renaissance printer Aldus Manutius, remains highly regarded for its scholarly editing, fine printing, and attractive presentation. An appealing example of early nineteenth-century English fine press publishing, preserving the poetic legacy of one of the greatest satirists in English literature. Some slight rubbing and wear, foxing and discoloration, else in very good + condition. Item #694
Price: $300.00