Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World - photo 1
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World - photo 2
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World - photo 3
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World - photo 4

Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World

Lot 261
19.10.2023 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Starting price
$ 48 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1032916
Lot 261 | Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World
Estimate value
$ 50 000 – 80 000
SWIFT, Jonathan (1667-1745). Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World ... by Lemuel Gulliver. London: Benj[amin] Motte, 1726.

Fresh and lovely copy of the first edition of Swift’s masterpiece, Teerink A, in a contemporary binding with the portrait of Gulliver in second state on paper with vertical chain lines. Swift's ahead-of-its-time utopian romp succeeds on many levels: as a Scriblerian satire, a burlesque travelogue, a moral fable, an anti-novel, an adventure in science fiction, a uniquely loved children’s book, and also a personal psychodrama. One of its great qualities is the kind of verisimilitude normally associated with Defoe applied to a world of exalted fantasy. The work remains “absolutely original, unequaled, unexampled,” words which Pope, in a letter to Lord Orrery, applied to all of Swift’s writings (A. Pope, Corr. iv. 59).

The Travels were written in Ireland, probably between 1720 and 1725, and Swift brought the finished manuscript to London with him when he left Dublin in March 1726. As the time of publication approached, it was frequently discussed by his friends—but even after its appearance on 28 October 1726 Swift kept up the public pretense of having had no hand in it. Arbuthnot believed it would have as great a run as Bunyan, and Gay wrote of the impression being "sold in a week" and "read from the cabinet council to the nursery." The manuscript had been delivered to Motte's door by Charles Ford, but it was through Pope's efforts that Swift obtained £200 for the copyright. He was to claim that this was the only occasion that he ever made a farthing by his writings (to Pulteney, 12 May, 1735). Ashley VI, p.28; Grolier English 42; Rothschild 2104; Teerink 289a; PMM 185.

Two volumes, octavo (191 x 120mm). Engraved frontispiece portrait of Gulliver [second state] and 6 plates (a few neatly repaired short tears in margins, occasional light dustsoiling). Contemporary English paneled calf (rebacked preserving original spine panel with other sympathetic restorations to boards, flyleaves retained). Provenance: Francis Meysey (armorial bookplate).
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
14.10.2023 10:00 – 17:00
15.10.2023 13:00 – 17:00
16.10.2023 10:00 – 17:00
17.10.2023 10:00 – 17:00
18.10.2023 10:00 – 17:00
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

More from Creator

Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World
$38 000
[SWIFT, Jonathan (1667-1745)]
[SWIFT, Jonathan (1667-1745)]
£20 000
[SWIFT, Jonathan (1667-1745)]
[SWIFT, Jonathan (1667-1745)]
£3 000
Pliny's Natural History
Pliny's Natural History
$9 500
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
£100
[SWIFT, Jonathan (1667-1745)]
[SWIFT, Jonathan (1667-1745)]
£3 000
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
£100

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.