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The Works; of Jonathan Swift, D.D. Dean of St. Patricks, Dublin, Accurately Revised in Twelve Volumes, Adorned with Copper-Plates; with Some Account of the Author’s Life, and Notes Historical and Explanatory, by John Hawkesworth

Swift, Jonathan 8vos, 16, 80, [xxx], 340; (4), 8, xii (i.e. x), 542; (14), 411; (4), 307; (4), v, 344; (8), 307; (10), 430; (4), 440; (4), 473; iv, 438; (4), 374; iv, 383; full contemporary calf with gilt spines, red and blue spine labels, and five raised bands. An attractive set of the Large 8vo edition of Hawkesworth's Swift. The set was extended by the addition of another five volumes between 1764 and 1766. This set derives from the Thun-Hohenstein collection (Tetschner Bibliothek - red ink Armorial exlibris stamps to the versos of the title pages), a noble Austrian collection that sadly marks a sordid chapter in the history of the rare book trade. When the Bohemian castle of the Thun-Hohensteins was requisitioned by the Czech army in 1932, the collection was packed up and sent off to Prague to be sold into the trade. The bulk of the collection was purchased there by H.P. Kraus in 1934. But with the annexation of Austria by Hitler in 1938, Kraus faced persecution as a Jew. He was denounced by a business partner who took possession of his inventory to begin his own new business. Kraus was imprisoned, first at Dachau and then at Buchenwald, and although he was released, he was forced to flee, abandoning most of his inventory to his former partner. While Kraus succeeded in reestablishing his thriving book business in New York, it was many years before a restitution settlement for his Austrian inventory was reached. Teerink 88. General wear to extremities; some pages rumpled, but clean; tidelines and some spotting to endsheets; ex-libris stamps on the versos of each title page; in all, a presentable set
  • $2,500
  • $2,500