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Full Description: WEBSTER, Noah. An American Dictionary of the English Language: Intended to exhibit, I. The origin, affinities and primary signification of English words, as far as they have been ascertained. II. The genuine orthography and pronunciation of words, according to general usage, or to just principles of analogy. III. Accurate and discriminating definitions, with numerous authorities and illustrations. To which are prefixed, an introductory dissertation on the origin, history and connection of the languages of western Asia and of Europe, and a concise grammar of the English language. In two volumes. New York: Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe., 1828. First edition, one of only 2500 copies. Two large quarto volumes (10 3/4 x 8 7/8 inches; 274 x 226 mm.). Engraved frontispiece portrait (the portrait of Webster painted by S.F.B. Morse) by A.B. Durand printed by J.R. Burton. Tissue guard for portrait. With the final leaf of "Additions" and "Corrections" at the end of Volume II, which is often lacking. [Together with] Rare autograph leaf from the original draft of Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. One leaf with manuscript in brown ink on recto and verso (8x 10 inches; 250 x 200 mm). This rare manuscript page from his work presents definitions from "Biped" to "Bird." Other words present include "Bipedial," "Bipetalous," "Biquadrate," "Biquintile," "Biradiated" and "Birch." This leaf from Webster's draft manuscript shows his processes of careful editing. For "Birch," he wrote out and then crossed off an entire paragraph that read, in part: "This word is probably the same as bark; from the great use of birch barks among savage nations, the name was transferred to the tree, as was the name of beech to another species of tree." Webster substituted this deleted passage with text nearly identical to what saw print in 1828: "A genus of trees, known technically under the name Betula, of which there are four or five species; as the white or common birch-the dwarf birch-the Canada birch of which there are several varieties & the black birch." The Pierpont Morgan Library holds most of Webster's manuscript, which runs some 450 leaves; however, early on, leaves from the "A" and "B" sections were separated. All leaves that ever appeared for sale came from A & B. Two volumes uniformly bound in contemporary full dark brown sheep. Spines ruled in gilt with original black and red morocco spine labels, lettered in gilt. Marbled endpapers. Edges speckled brown. Some rubbing and scuffing to boards. Corners have been renewed on each volume. Some light dampstaining to portrait leaf, just barely touching the engraving. Some dampstaining to endpapers. Overall a very good set, with a wonderful manuscript leaf. Each volume housed in a chemise and blue quarter morocco clamshell box. "'The most ambitious publication ever undertaken, up to that time, upon American soil.' Webster began work on his Dictionary in 1800. Along the way his produced his fat duodecimo Compendious Dictionary of the English Language, New Haven, 1806.and an abridgement of this for schools in 1807, and by 1813 he had learned twenty languages, seven of which were Asiatic or dialects of the Assyrian, to which twenty he later added Portuguese, Welsh, Gothic and the early dialects of English and German. He spent a year abroad in 18234-25 to perfect the work, and began printing May 8, 1827.Webster set a new standard for entymological investigation, and for accuracy of definition ('a born definer of words'-Sir James Murray), and included 70,000 words, as against the 58,000 of any previous dictionary. There were 2,500 copies printed, in boards uncut or full calf.Webster wrote every word of the manuscript of the dictionary himself" (Grolier, 100 American). "This dictionary, which almost at once became, and has remained, the standard English dictionary in the United States, was the end-product of a stream of spelling books, grammars, reade.
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