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MISCELLANEA

MISCELLANEA by POPE, ALEXANDER. [and] JOHNATHAN SWIFT, et al.

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Seller: Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts
Title
MISCELLANEA
Author
POPE, ALEXANDER. [and] JOHNATHAN SWIFT, et al.
Seller
Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts (United States)
Description
London: [for E. Curll], printed in the year, 1727 [i.e., 1726]. FIRST EDITION. 161 x 98 mm. (6 3/8 x 3 3/4"). Two volumes.. Attractive retrospective gilt-panelled dark brown morocco by Philip Dusel, spines gilt in panels incorporating thistle motifs, gilt lettering, all edges gilt. Each volume with engraved frontispiece, second volume with small engraving on verso of title to "Laus Ululae," head- and tail-pieces. First volume with early ink ownership inscription of Isabela Eyre on title. Griffith 177-78. Paper of "Laus Ululae" in vol. II slightly toned, a couple of negligible imperfections to margins elsewhere, but IN FINE CONDITION, bright, clean, and crisp throughout, in pristine bindings. This is a very appealing copy of a publication that marks the reignition of one of the most dramatic literary feuds of the early 18th century. The trouble between Alexander Pope, the literary giant of the age, and bookseller Edmund Curll (d. 1747) had started 10 years previously, when Curll had acquired the manuscript of one of Pope's poems and published it without permission. Pope, incensed, called a meeting with Curll, where he dosed the bookseller's drink with an emetic, causing a violent illness. Not satisfied, Pope proceeded to release two pamphlets vilifying Curll. DNB tells us that "Pope planned the attack quite well, for the childish and vicious nature of the emetic trick was palliated by the wit of the pamphlets, and Curll appeared not as a victim but as a most deserving villain." Curll took to the role of Pope's public enemy with apparent glee, releasing works mocking Pope's Catholic religion and calling him a traitor. The conflict cooled for a number of years, but in 1726, Curll purchased a group of personal letters Pope had written to fellow poet Henry Cromwell (1659-1728) early in his career. These youthful missives paint both men in a poor light, more strongly because Curll had acquired them from a former mistress of Cromwell, Elizabeth Thomas, who was facing financial difficulties. Curll released the letters as part of the present miscellany, which also included six previously unpublished poems by Pope alongside works by Jonathan Swift and others, presumably all published without the authors' permission. The two volumes open with passive-aggressive dedications to Cromwell and Pope, respectively. Pope responded by attacking Curll and Thomas in his 1728 "Dunciad," and this set off a volley of defamatory publications on both sides. Finally, in 1733, Pope ended the whole petty feud with a complicated scheme to discredit Curll and the publication of his own (more flattering) correspondence. The "Miscellanea" is quite scarce in the marketplace, and our remarkably fresh and bright copy would stand out even among commonly available copies..

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