A Dictionary of the English Language; in which the Words Are Deduced from Their Originals, Explained in Their Different Meanings, and Authorized by the Names of the Writers in Whose Works They Are Found. Abstracted from the Folio Edition, by the Author. to which is Prefixed A Grammar of the English Language. The Twelfth Edition, Corrected and Revised; with Considerable Additions from the Eighth Edition of the Original.

Johnson, Samuel

Published by D. Buchanan, 1802

Twelfth edition. Crudely rebacked, original boards preserved. Boards heavily rubbed with all edges exposed, large paint splotch on rear board, hinges loose with first gathering loose but included, ink name on front endpaper. A good candidate for restoration or rebinding, as the text is complete and the pages well preserved. 1802 Full-Leather. Unpaginated. "Published on 15 April 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, sometimes published as Johnson's Dictionary, is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language. There was dissatisfaction with the dictionaries of the period, so in June 1746 a group of London booksellers contracted Johnson to write a dictionary for the sum of 1,500 guineas (£1,575), equivalent to about £230,000 as of 2010. Johnson took nearly nine years to complete the work, although he had claimed he could finish it in three. Remarkably, he did so single-handedly, with only clerical assistance to copy out the illustrative quotations that he had marked in books. Johnson produced several revised editions during his life. Until the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary, 173 years later, Johnson's was viewed as the pre-eminent English dictionary. According to Walter Jackson Bate, the Dictionary 'easily ranks as one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship, and probably the greatest ever performed by one individual who labored under anything like the disadvantages in a comparable length of time. Seller Inventory # 2333816

Bibliographic Details

Title: A Dictionary of the English Language; in ...
Publisher: D. Buchanan
Publication Date: 1802
Binding: Full-Leather
Condition: Fair
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Edition: Twelfth Edition.