Last folio edition, and last edition revised by Johnson. The last lifetime edition of Johnson's Dictionary, and the only edition substantively revised by him.

'He codified the spelling of English words; he gave full and lucid definitions of their meanings... and he adduced extensive and apt illustrations from a wide range of authoritative writers' (PMM). An excellent example in contemporary sprinkled calf of this enduring classic, a mainstay of any serious collection.

With over 40,000 definitions and more than 100,000 quotations compiled by the most prolific writer of the eighteenth century, and arguably one of the most distinguished men of letters in English history. A 'Dictionary', Johnson (1709-1786) informs us, is a 'book containing the words of any language in alphabetical order, with explanations of their meaning; a lexicon a vocabulary; a word-book'.

First published in 1755, the project to find a replacement to the generally deficient Dictionarium Britannicum of Nathan Bailey had been proposed to Johnson ten years earlier by a group of booksellers headed by Robert Dodsley. Whereas the best international dictionaries then available had been sponsored and composed by public bodies of learned men, the Dictionary of the English Language was from the beginning a commercial enterprise, and the work of a single person. Johnson, operating out of his house in Gough Street, was able to complete the venture in just 9 years.

Johnson wrote to his friend Bennett Langton in August 1771 that his 'summer wanderings' being almost over, he was now 'engaging in a very great work, the revision of my Dictionary'; by October 1772 he was 'now within a few hours of being able to send the whole dictionary to the press' (see Johnson's letter to John Taylor). Although Johnson was deprecatory about his efforts, the revision was in fact substantial, introducing many important additions in its coverage, including a number of new quotations, and an advertisement following the preface.

'The Dictionary left an immense mark on its age. It soon became recognised as a work of classical standing, and in spite of some minor blemishes it has never lost its historical importance as the first great endeavour of its kind. Notable above all for definitions of pith and occasional wit, the dictionary was even more original in the way in which every word, as Johnson put it, had its history. Each entry is organised under the headword to exemplify graduated senses of a term, a procedure which redirected the course of English lexicography' (ODNB).

Fourth edition; 2 vols; folio (42.5 x 27 cm); newspaper article tipped-in to front pastedown of vol. I, occasional light spotting; contemporary calf, rebacked preserving original red morocco lettering-pieces, corners repaired, covers a little scuffed, otherwise very good.

ESTC T117232; Fleeman 55.4D/4a.