{"product_id":"samuel-johnson-dictionary-english-language-london-1755-123546","title":"A Dictionary of the English Language:","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003efirst edition in the original calf boards\u003c\/h4\u003eThe first edition of Samuel Johnson's important contribution to the standardisation of the English language, in the original calf boards\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'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 mottled calf of this enduring classic, a mainstay of any serious collection.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith 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 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'.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'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).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; 2 vols; folio (42.5 x 26.5 cm); title-page printed in red and black, closed tear to title of vol. I expertly repaired, a little creasing and toning; contemporary calf boards, rebacked preserving original spines which have been laid down, original title-labels, volume labels renewed, corners and boards restored, very good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eESTC T117231; Fleeman 55.4D\/1a; Kennedy 6244; PMM 201; Rothschild 1237.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"JOHNSON, Samuel.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57165649903991,"sku":"123546","price":12500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/123546_1372d936-512e-44c8-a7d0-7c7160885173.jpg?v=1781125242","url":"https:\/\/shapero.com\/products\/samuel-johnson-dictionary-english-language-london-1755-123546","provider":"Shapero Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}