An American Dictionary of the English Language (1st Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Noah Webster, Chauncey A. Goodrich (editor)

Published by George and Charles Merriam, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1848

The historic first Webster dictionary published by George Charles Merriam, a highly successful endeavor that greatly influenced the spelling and development of the American English language for generations to come. Condition: Good. Complete and original, including sheepskin binding, endpapers and blanks. BOOK INFO Title:An American Dictionary Of The English Language; Containing The Whole Vocabulary Of The First Edition In Two Volumes Quarto; The Entire Corrections And Improvements Of The Second Edition In Two Volumes Royal Octavo; To Which Is Prefixed And Introductory Dissertation On The Origin, History, And Connection Of The Languages Of Western Asia And Europe, With An Explanation Of The Principles On Which Languages Are Formed. Revised And Enlarged, With Pronouncing Vocabularies Of Scripture, Classical, And Geographical Names Published in 1848 in Springfield, Massachusetts by George and Charles Merriam. First Merriam-Webster dictionary (Webster's first dictionary was in 1806 and his first American dictionary of English words was published in 1828 after Webster labored for over twenty years to provide a more accurate and comprehensive dictionary tailored to American English usage and preferences.) Bound in its original publisher-issued full sheepskin with raised spine bands ruled in gilt and a gilt-lettered black morocco spine label. All edges marbled. Marbled endpapers. Frontispiece of Noah Webster. Quarto, 10.5" x 8.5" x 3.5" thick. Collated and complete: lxxxiv, 1367, [1] pp. Entries in a three-column table ruled in black. In addition to the words and corresponding definitions, contents include a preface, advertisement, author memoir, introduction, orthography of Dr. Webster, Alphabets and Ethiopic alphabet, tables of scripture names, Greek and Latin proper names, and modern geographical names. CONDITION REPORT The dictionary is in Good condition. All original and complete, including the often-perished morocco spine label. Exterior and binding: Binding holding firm with some slight loosening of the boards. Rubbed and worn sheep, though much less than usually found and much more colorful. Loss of leather in places, skinning, tear to leather at foot of spine, bumped corners. Dusty edges. Interior: Foxing throughout, moderate to heavy at times, oxidation of text block in most places. Offsetting from steel-engraved frontispiece. Numerous bent page corners and large page creases from folds. A few leaves' margins miscut by the printer, leaving excess paper.Front blank with former owner inscription in pencil. Light water dampening stains along gutter of last 50 leaves. Pages417-422 with blue ink stains on top of text (heaviest on leaf 417-418) but words still readable through the ink. HISTORY In 1806, Webster published his first dictionary,A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language. The following year, in 1807, Webster began two consecutive decades of intensive work to expand his publication into a fully comprehensive dictionary,An American Dictionary of the English Language. To help trace the etymology of words, Webster learned 26 languages. Webster hoped to standardize American speech, since Americans in different parts of theUnited Statesused somewhat different vocabularies and spelled, pronounced, and used words differently. In 1825, while spending a year abroad at theUniversity of Cambridgeand then in Paris, Webster completed this dictionary, which featured 70,000 words, about 12,000 of which had never before appeared in a dictionary. Aspelling reformer, Webster believed thatEnglishspelling rules were unnecessarily complex and used the dictionary to introduceAmerican Englishspellings, replacingcolourwithcolor,waggonwithwagon, andcentrewithcenter. He also added American words, includingskunkandsquash, that did not appear in British dictionaries. Three years later, at age of 70 in 1828, Webster published the dictionary.In 1843, following Webster's death,George Merriamand Charles Merriam secured publishing and revision r. Seller Inventory # 293

Bibliographic Details

Title: An American Dictionary of the English ...
Publisher: George and Charles Merriam, Springfield, Massachusetts
Publication Date: 1848
Binding: Original full sheepskin
Condition: Good
Edition: 1st edition.