The miscellany was a crucially important mode of literature in this period, and particular reasons for this are set out in an early segment of the chapter. This was also the case for Swift and for Curll, although it served very different purposes over the duration of their lives. In fact, Swift founded his career (especially as a poet) largely on his presence in miscellanies, a form in which much of Curll’s output lay. His Miscellanies (1711) made up the earliest collection of his writings, but it had to displace a smaller grouping that Curll had assembled in the previous year. Soon afterwards the bookseller embarked on a long series of similar items, including fresh raids on Swift’s oeuvre. The form proved well suited to Curll’s needs, most of all in his efforts to cover up the sources of his material. The various interactions of the two men in this mode are analysed, and a section devoted to the question raised by Stephen Karian as to whether Curll’s activity can reasonably be considered as literary piracy.