Description:

Swift Jonathan 1667 - 1745 Rare book, possibly from Jonathan Swift's library, which undoubtedly would have been a source for information he used when he wrote "Gulliver's Travels". Rare book with inscription, "Liber / Johannis Swift / non est mortale quod opto / 1698" on the title page. "A / Commentary / Upon the Whole / Booke of Judges. / Preached First and Delive- / red in Sundrie Lectures ... / Penned by Richard Rogers Preacher / of Gods word at Wethersfield in Essex..." London: Imprinted by Felix Kyngston for Thomas Man, and are to be sold at his shop in Pater-noster Row, at the signe of the Talbot, 1615." 970 pages, 7.25" x 11". Contemporary half calf over marbled boards. Gilt spine with calf label and five raised bands. Fine condition.

Inscribed on the second blank flyleaf, preceding the title page, "S.R. Mason. / Presented by Dr. A.C. Webber / January 1856. / Cambridge / Mass." Placed in a custom-made green cloth covered four-flap box housed in a matching custom-made green cloth covered slipcase with book-like spine, five raised bands, with gilt-lettered title, author, and "Jonathan Swift's / Signed Copy / 1615" on spine.


We are selling this book for the book value only and cannot definitively authenticate the Swift signature, because it is so close to genuine examples. We previously believed it genuine (and worth $15,000) but a single scholar, not a handwriting expert, objected. Thus in the spirit of being conservative, we chose to offer it at this low price and let the buyer decide. It is offered as not signed by Swift.

Jonathan Swift was well-versed in Latin and, at times, mixed English and Latin in his poems and correspondence to conceal his satire. According to Michael Powell Siddons in Volume III, "The Development of Welsh Heraldry" (Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 2006), "non est mortale quod opto" ("what I choose is not mortal") was the Latin motto of Thomas Laugharne in the late 17th century. Swift moved from his native Ireland to England in 1689 due to political unrest and worked as secretary to Sir William Temple at Moor Park, Farnham in Surrey; Temple needed someone to help him prepare his memoirs. While at Moor Park, Swift had full access to the large, well-stocked library. Richard Rogers was a major early Puritan divine. A member of Parliament from Dublin, Sir William Temple was educated at the Puritan College of Emmanuel at Cambridge. The great English and colonial American 17th century Puritan divines John Cotton, Thomas Hooker, and Thomas Shepard also attended Emmanuel. This book of Rogers' lectures may have been given to Swift by Temple in 1698. When Temple died in 1699, Swift returned to Ireland and took up various positions in the church.

Jonathan Swift published "Gulliver's Travels" anonymously in 1726. He undoubtedly used the Puritan ideology espoused by Richard Rogers in this book in "The Voyage to Houyhnhnmland," the last part of his classic four part novel, where the horses (Houyhnhnms) are the rulers and the deformed creatures (Yahoos) are human beings.

English literature scholar Margaret Olofson Thickstun in "The Puritan Origins of Gulliver's Conversion in Houyhnhnmland," ("Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900," Vol. 37, No. 3, "Restoration and Eighteenth Century," 1997), writes, "In the fourth book of ‰Û÷Gulliver's Travels,' Jonathan Swift develops a complex satire of radical Protestantism. A careful examination of the language Gulliver uses to describe his experience in ‰Û÷The Voyage to Houyhnhnmland' reveals his identification with the bestial Yahoos as an instance of what Puritan divines call a ‰Û÷True Sight of Sin' ... Gulliver's decision mirrors a Puritan impulse to withdraw, or separate, into ‰Û÷pure' communities that they hoped would more closely approximate the invisible church than the mixed multitudes attending Anglican services ... Swift's choice of horses as the members of this unfallen community allows him to mock the unattainable nature of Gulliver's ideal: it is not possible for Gulliver to be sanctified, to become a horse; the Houyhnhnms eject him, as decisively as any Separating Puritan congregation would reject a confirmed sinner ... the Houyhnhnm Master, like a good Puritan divine, pushes Gulliver to a conviction of his own sinful, or Yahoo, nature. He even calls the Yahoos Gulliver's ‰Û÷brethren.' But he does not consider Gulliver his brother..."

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 20% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000