The Closing Years of

Dean Swift's Life;

with remarks on Stella,
and of some of his writings hitherto unnoticed.
by W.R. Wilde, M.R.I.A., F.R.C.S.

second edition, revised and enlarged.
Dublin: Hodges and Smith, Grafton-Street, 1849.

 title page
This book is an oddity, providing more insight into the 19th Century's obsession with death than anything useful about Swift. It includes images of Swift's skull, a cast of the inside of his cranium, and his death mask, as well as Esther Johnson's skull. It came to my attention when someone offerred to sell me a copy. I borrowed a copy from the university library to evaluate it and decided it was not worth my owning it. However it is still a fascinating artifact with some unique, if morbid, items. Thus, to preserve and make this information available, I present it here.
Click on thumbnail image to see a full-size version.

Frontispiece: Portrait of Stella
Esther Johnson
artist's name (T. or F. Engleheart ....?) illegible
Jonathan Swift's and Esther Johnson's graves were exhumed in 1835 as a consequence of work conducted in St. Patrick's Cathedral. The opening of the graves gave researchers an opportunity to review their remains in the hope of uncovering new information about their deaths and their lives.

Side view of Swift's
Cast of the interior of Swift's skull
"...his head was opened after death...Accurate casts were made both of the exterior and interior of Swift's skull : from these and the drawings made by Mr. Hamilton, we are enabled to furnish the accompanying accurate illustrations.

The bust taken after death
The house where Swift was born.

Stella's Cranium.
The Medallion of Stella at Delville.

This work is no longer under copyright protection.
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Scanned and compiled by Lee Jaffe
Comments or questions?
updated: 21 January 1999