Dublin: George Folingsby, 1794. Hardcover. Theophilus Swift (1746–1815) was an Irish writer and poet and a cousin of Jonathan Swift. Swift was known to be eccentric and sometimes difficult. He had some unpleasant controversies with the fellows of Trinity College, Dublin, whom he abused because his son Deane, a student there, ‘the cleverest lad in all Ireland,’ had not been awarded any distinctions at his examinations. In his ‘Animadversions on the Fellows of Trinity College, Dublin’ (1794), he charged some of the fellows with having broken the rule which prohibited them from marrying. He was prosecuted for libel and was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment, while one of his adversaries, the Rev. Dr. Burrowes, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for libeling him [Wikipedia]. This is a nice copy of that scarce work. Bound in contemporary brown leather with gilt ruling to covers and red title label. Leather is chipped, rubbed, and bumped. Interiorpages have browning and some spotting but quite legible. Ownership signature on title page. Includes the allegorical fold-out illustration, which is also browned and spotted. Small octavo. 192 pages. Very Good.

Item #35054

Price: $175.00