1blue.eyes2
I was finally able to get a copy of the 1929 LEC Gulliver's Travels (the first ever LEC publication) and also a copy of the Heritage Gulliver's Travels. The LEC published Gulliver's Travels again in 1950 and though this second offering is unique from a design standpoint it only contains the first two of the four voyages of Gulliver. So the 1929 Gulliver's Travels is the LEC edition to obtain if one actually wants to read the book. But what about the Heritage edition? I first thought there is no difference between the text of the 1929 LEC edition and the Heritage edition, but the sandglass that came with the Heritage edition says:
------
So there is some textual variation between the 1929 LEC edition and the Heritage edition of the book. The sandglass says that the Faulkner edition (Faulkner being the Irish publisher of this book) was produced with Swift's co-operation, but the inference the sandglass makes, that Swift "...therefore corrected the proofs of Faulkner's edition..." is, I hope, based on some concrete evidence and not just because Swift endorsed the Faulkner edition somewhere (in some letter to Faulkner, for example). The endorsement could have been made because of Swift's interest in getting the book published, even if in a slightly mutilated form. On the other hand, it is also possible that Swift went ahead and actually revised either the Ford copy or the Motte edition of the book for the Faulkner edition.
It might be interesting for someone to compare the textual variation between the text of the Ford copy (such as the LEC 1929 edition) and the Faulkner edition (such as the Heritage edition) of this book and to note, in particular, whether there is something particularly vexatious in one edition of the book which is not present in the other edition.
Since, as mentioned in the sandglass, Swift had written while composing this book that his main purpose was to vex the world rather than entertain it, the entire book needs to be read as a satire and really to understand the satire one may have to do some additional background reading in addition to reading the introductions in the LEC and Heritage editions. A good place to start might be to read the section on Swift in Will and Ariel Durant's 'The Age of Louis XIV' which is volume 8 of the Story of Civilization.
-------
Notice the size difference between the 1929 LEC edition and the Heritage edition.
A few more pictures from the LEC edition:
-------
Some extracts from the Durant book:
------
So there is some textual variation between the 1929 LEC edition and the Heritage edition of the book. The sandglass says that the Faulkner edition (Faulkner being the Irish publisher of this book) was produced with Swift's co-operation, but the inference the sandglass makes, that Swift "...therefore corrected the proofs of Faulkner's edition..." is, I hope, based on some concrete evidence and not just because Swift endorsed the Faulkner edition somewhere (in some letter to Faulkner, for example). The endorsement could have been made because of Swift's interest in getting the book published, even if in a slightly mutilated form. On the other hand, it is also possible that Swift went ahead and actually revised either the Ford copy or the Motte edition of the book for the Faulkner edition.
It might be interesting for someone to compare the textual variation between the text of the Ford copy (such as the LEC 1929 edition) and the Faulkner edition (such as the Heritage edition) of this book and to note, in particular, whether there is something particularly vexatious in one edition of the book which is not present in the other edition.
Since, as mentioned in the sandglass, Swift had written while composing this book that his main purpose was to vex the world rather than entertain it, the entire book needs to be read as a satire and really to understand the satire one may have to do some additional background reading in addition to reading the introductions in the LEC and Heritage editions. A good place to start might be to read the section on Swift in Will and Ariel Durant's 'The Age of Louis XIV' which is volume 8 of the Story of Civilization.
-------
Notice the size difference between the 1929 LEC edition and the Heritage edition.
A few more pictures from the LEC edition:
-------
Some extracts from the Durant book:
2Lukas1990
Here's my very rare copy of Gulliver's Travels published by the Golden Cockerel Press for comparison. Signed by illustrator David Jones.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/341462#7826518
https://www.librarything.com/topic/341462#7826518
3blue.eyes2
>2 Lukas1990: I like the illustrations in the Golden Cockerel Press book. Thanks for sharing.
4Django6924
>1 blue.eyes2:
When I took my degree, my 18th century lit course used the 2 vol. edition of Gulliver edited by W.A. Eddy (1932-33) as the authorized text. It basically followed Faulkner's edition with some editorial modifications based on...? Motte's edition was indeed a mess, so much so that Swift complained "I hardly know my own work," and Motte apparently destroyed Swift's original manuscript. Faulkner's edition restored passages he found in Ford's copy, which was supposedly as Swift wanted. It also contained as a preface A letter from Capt. Gulliver to his Cousin Sympson which contained Swift's rant against Motte's version. I do not remember whether this is in the Limited Editions Club version, which I no longer have, but is in the HP.
The Golden Cockerel edition is very interesting, particularly for its illustrations: David Jones, in addition to being a wonderful artist, was a fine writer. His novel based on his experiences in the trenches, In Parenthesis is highly original in its mixture of poetry and prose. T.S. Eliot and W.B. Yeats extravagantly praised it, and Auden claimed it "the greatest book about the First World War."
Back to Swift: since I took my degree, there have been many new "standard" editions of Gulliver; I believe the 16 volume Prose Writings edited by H. Davis is the current favorite in academe.
I also have an inexpensive edition which uses the Faulkner text, with an introduction by Jacques Barzun and wonderful illustrations by Luis Quintanilla. This was my first "adult" edition of Gulliver and I have a particular affection for it for that reason and because Quintanilla did a lovely set of murals based on Don Quixote for my alma mater.
When I took my degree, my 18th century lit course used the 2 vol. edition of Gulliver edited by W.A. Eddy (1932-33) as the authorized text. It basically followed Faulkner's edition with some editorial modifications based on...? Motte's edition was indeed a mess, so much so that Swift complained "I hardly know my own work," and Motte apparently destroyed Swift's original manuscript. Faulkner's edition restored passages he found in Ford's copy, which was supposedly as Swift wanted. It also contained as a preface A letter from Capt. Gulliver to his Cousin Sympson which contained Swift's rant against Motte's version. I do not remember whether this is in the Limited Editions Club version, which I no longer have, but is in the HP.
The Golden Cockerel edition is very interesting, particularly for its illustrations: David Jones, in addition to being a wonderful artist, was a fine writer. His novel based on his experiences in the trenches, In Parenthesis is highly original in its mixture of poetry and prose. T.S. Eliot and W.B. Yeats extravagantly praised it, and Auden claimed it "the greatest book about the First World War."
Back to Swift: since I took my degree, there have been many new "standard" editions of Gulliver; I believe the 16 volume Prose Writings edited by H. Davis is the current favorite in academe.
I also have an inexpensive edition which uses the Faulkner text, with an introduction by Jacques Barzun and wonderful illustrations by Luis Quintanilla. This was my first "adult" edition of Gulliver and I have a particular affection for it for that reason and because Quintanilla did a lovely set of murals based on Don Quixote for my alma mater.
5blue.eyes2
>4 Django6924: Thanks for this comment.
The Heritage edition has the 'Letter from Capt. Gulliver to his Cousin Sympson'. This is not present in the 1929 LEC edition.
The Heritage edition also has a note titled 'The Publisher to the Reader'. This note is also included in the LEC edition.
The Shane Leslie introduction for the 1929 LEC Edition is not included in the Heritage edition. In lieu of this the Heritage has 'A Note upon the Text prepared by John Hayward for the Nonesuch Swift' which is not present in the LEC edition.
The LEC also has a very brief 'A Note upon the Text' which is not present in the Heritage edition.
I like both the 1929 LEC and the Heritage editions of this book.
The Heritage edition has the 'Letter from Capt. Gulliver to his Cousin Sympson'. This is not present in the 1929 LEC edition.
The Heritage edition also has a note titled 'The Publisher to the Reader'. This note is also included in the LEC edition.
The Shane Leslie introduction for the 1929 LEC Edition is not included in the Heritage edition. In lieu of this the Heritage has 'A Note upon the Text prepared by John Hayward for the Nonesuch Swift' which is not present in the LEC edition.
The LEC also has a very brief 'A Note upon the Text' which is not present in the Heritage edition.
I like both the 1929 LEC and the Heritage editions of this book.
6BuzzBuzzard
>1 blue.eyes2: I believe the Heritage edition pictured is from 1940 not 1950.
Never mind. Just reread your post.
Never mind. Just reread your post.
7blue.eyes2
>6 BuzzBuzzard: Yes, that's the first Heritage. The 1950 date I mentioned was in connection with the second time the LEC published the Gulliver's Travels (in 1950). I've never seen that particular book except photos of it on this forum.
Devenir membre pour poster.
