A Tale of a Tub
The first, second, and third editions of the "Tale" appeared in 1704; the fifth edition came out in 1710. In "The Apology for the &c.", Swift indicates that he originally gave his publisher a preliminary copy of the work, while he kept a blotted copy at his own hand and lent other copies including one to Thomas Swift, Jonathan's "parson cousin". As a consequence, the first edition appeared with many errors. The second edition was a resetting of the type. The third edition was a reprint of the second, with corrections, and the fourth edition contained corrections of the third.
A Tale of a Tub
Upon publication the public realised both that there was an allegory in the story of the brothers and that there were particular political references in the Digressions. A number of "Keys" appeared soon thereafter, analogous to contemporary services like CliffsNotes or Spark Notes. "Keys" offered the reader a commentary on the "Tale" and explanations of its references. Edmund Curll rushed out a "Key" to the work, and William Wotton offered up an "Answer" to the author of the work.