Catalogue 138 - Language and Learning
601. WAKE, WILLIAM. A practical discourse concerning swearing: especially the two great points of perjury and common-swearing. London: Richard Sare, 1696. $750
First edition, small 8vo, pp. [2], xxix [i.e. xlv], [15], 144; occasional use of Greek and Hebrew type; full contemporary paneled calf with gilt rules and fleurons; joints cracked, the whole rubbed and worn but sound, red morocco label on spine (rubbed); internally quite crisp.
Wake (1657-1737) was a very prolific writer and the archbishop of Canterbury, “a man of wide reading, immense industry, and of a liberal and tolerant spirit.”
Wing W252
DEDICATED TO JOHNSON
602. WALKER, JOHN. A rhetorical grammar, or course of lessons in elocution. London: for the author, by G. G. J. and J. Robinson, and T. Cadell, 1787. $350
Second edition and the last in the 18th century; 12mo, pp. vi, [6], 348; full contemporary sheep, black morocco label on spine; corners worn, joints cracked but binding still sound; spine ends a little chipped; good or better.
First published in 1785, this second edition is a verbatim reprint. It wasn’t printed again until 1801 and it reached a seventh edition by 1823. With a dedication to Dr. Samuel Johnson.
Alston VI, 420.
603. WALKER, J. A critical pronouncing dictionary; and expositor of the English language… Philadelphia: printed by Budd and Bartram, for H. & P. Price [et al.], 1803. $750
First American edition, 8vo, pp. cxxxii, [1], [990]; 3 vertical cracks in spine, else good and sound in full original sheep, red morocco label.
Based on the third edition of 1798, this edition is quite rare in the trade — the Cordell copy is imperfect, and Alston locates only the copies at Yale, Columbia, and the Library of Congress; OCLC, however, finds 22 in likely locations.
Sheridan, Perry and Entick were the only English lexicographers to precede Walker in the American market. Unlike these dictionaries, though, Walker’s took hold on American soil, and editions of him proliferated here through the first half of the 19th century. Much of Walker’s theory of pronunciation was later adopted by Joseph Worcester, who introduced in his own dictionaries Walker’s “correct” or “King’s English” pronunciation to Americans, thereby exerting Walker’s considerable influence over the speech of many Americans.
604. WALKER, J. A critical pronouncing dictionary, and expositor of the English language… To which is annexed a key to the classical pronunciation of Greek, Latin, and scripture proper names…. New London: W. & J. Bolles; New York: Collins, Keese & Co., 1836. $125
Stereotyped edition, 8vo, pp. 71, [1], 609, 103; full contemporary calf, gilt-lettered spine; some rubbing but generally a good, sound copy or better. The Key, with its separate title-page, is also dated 1836. William Bolles, the publisher of this New London issue, himself also compiled a spelling book as well as a dictionary of his own, first published in 1845.
Vancil, p. 253.
605. WALKER, J. A critical pronouncing dictionary… A new edition, carefully revised, corrected and enlarged. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson, 1841. $150
8vo, pp. [2], 83, [1], 587, [1]; engraved frontis portrait; bound with, certainly as issued: A key to the classical pronunciation of Greek, Latin, and scripture proper names, pp. [2], 66; leaf 2N8 of the lexicon proper torn in half, but the loose portion is present; otherwise a good, sound copy in contemporary full calf, gilt lettering direct on spine; recased and rebacked, old spine laid down.
606. WALKER, J. Cobb’s abridgement of J. Walker’s Critical Pronouncing Dictionary, and Expositor of the English Language … in which Mr. Walker’s principles of orthography and pronunciation are strictly followed … with an appendix containing a class of words which are in common use in this country, and not found in Walker’s Dictionary. Designed for the use of schools and families. Ithaca: Mack, Andrus, & Woodruff, 1836. $100
Sq. 12mo, pp. xii, [13]-440; text in triple column; full original sheep, red morocco label on spine; extremities rubbed, dampstaining throughout; good and sound.
American Imprints 42301 locating only the Cornell copy; not found in OCLC.
607. WALKER, J. A key to the classical pronounciation [sic] of Greek, Latin, and scripture proper names; in which the words are accented and divided into syllables exactly as they ought to be pronounced … To which are added terminational vocabularies of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin proper names, in which the words are arranged according to their final syllables, and classed according to their accents… Boston: published by Farrand, Mallory & Co., 1808. $300
“First American from the third London edition, ” 8vo, pp. 345; contemporary and probably original full sheep, red morocco label lettered in gilt on spine, covers with several scrapes along fore-edges, wear to extremities, and very minor scattered foxing to text, overall good and sound.
Another “first American from the third London edition” also appeared in 1808, published in Philadelphia by Hopkins and Earle. Published separately here, the Key was usually added, with its own title, to Walker’s Critical Pronouncing Dictionary. It was reprinted separately as late as 1881, and was used by both Worcester and Webster in different editions of their own dictionaries, and was appended also to subsequent reissues of Johnson.
608. WALLIS, JOHN. Ionnis Wallisii grammatica linguae Anglicanae. Cui praefigitur, de loquela; sive de sonorum omnium loquelarium formatione: tractus grammatico-physicus. Editio sexta… London: excudebat Guil. Bowyer, 1765. $1, 750
8vo, pp. xxxv, [1], 281, [5]; engraved portrait, final leaf bearing the smoke print binder’s emblem Liberty; full red goatskin by John Matthewman for Thomas Hollis, covers with a single gilt fillet, gilt figure of Britannia on upper cover, the cap of liberty on the lower cover, flat spine lettered in gilt and tooled in the middle with the Caduceus of Mercury, marbled endpapers and edges; the spine with hairline cracks and the edges a little rubbed, but in all a very good, pleasing copy.
The work was edited by Thomas Hollis, the Republican, as part of his program for publishing English writers on liberty of the Commonwealth period. The catalogue at the end is Hollis’s bibliography of the literature of liberty and includes three not yet in print. By 1758 Hollis was using Matthewman as his binder and had equipped him with a set of emblematic tools designed by Cipriani. In 1764 these were destroyed in a fire and a new set was cut by Thomas Pingo, engraver to the Royal mint. Hollis paid Bowyer, the printer, 20 pounds for writing the preface; and Hollis purchased 100 copies for presentation.
Rothschild 2731.
609. WALTERS, JOHN. A dissertation on the Welsh language, pointing out it’s [sic] antiquity, copiousness, grammatical perfection, with remarks on it’s [sic] poetry; and other articles not foreign to the subject. Cowbridge: for the author, by R. & D. Thomas, 1771. $375
First edition of the first book printed in Glamorganshire, slim 8vo, 70pp., with the half-title, later cloth, unlabeled; dampstain pervades lower margin through first half, with minor loss of paper to the title and half-title.
Walters’ major work was the English-Welsh dictionary (1770-94, issued in 18 parts), and it was in connection with this that the first printing press was established in Glamorgan. Rhys Thomas, his printer, removed to Cowbridge from Llandovery in Carmathan, in 1771 so that he could be within a few miles of the compiler. This dissertation was subsequently appended to each edition of the dictionary which “even to the present day, is unrivaled for its excellence in the idiomatic renderings of sentences, and shows the compiler to have been a master of the idiom and phraseology of the Welsh language.” The work, however, “proved a great financial loss to the author” (see DNB XX, 719).
610. WALTERS, J. An English-Welsh dictionary: wherein, not only the words, but also, the idioms and phraseology of the English language, are carefully translated into Welsh … with a regular interspersion of the English proverbs … To which is subjoined a dissertation on the Welsh language… Dolgelly: printed and published by R. Jones, Gomerian Press, 1815. $600
“Second edition, carefully corrected, ”, 2 vols., 4to, pp. xiv, 784; [2], 698, 22, [8] subscribers’ list; text in double column; A Dissertation with separate title-p.; contemporary full calf, neatly rebacked, old black morocco label preserved; a good, sound set, or better.
First printed in London and Cowbridge for the author in 1794. Contains an interesting preface recounting the publication of the first edition and giving a brief synopsis of Welsh lexicography.
The third edition of 1828 only in Vancil.
611. WALTHER, ERWIN. Den Amerikanske tolken. Engelsk-Svensk tolk och rådgifvare för utvandrare till Amerika. Stockholm: Adolf Johnsons Forlag, [1903]. $275
16mo, pp. 144; glazed pictorial paper-covered boards; front hinge cracked at title-p., else fine, bright, and attractive. Phrase book and vocabulary for the Swedish immigrant.
Not found in the RLIN, OCLC, or KVK databases, and not in NUC.
612. WATANABE, SHOICHI. Bibliotheca philologica Watanabeiensis. The catalogue of philological books in the library of Professor Shoichi Watanabe. Associate editor Satoru Ueda. Tokyo: Yushodo Co., Ltd., 2001. $195
First edition limited to 800 copies, 4to, pp. xxiii, [3], 671, [2]; frontispiece portrait and 9 illus. on rectos and versos of 2 plates; text in double column; as new in original red cloth. Includes a preface by Watanabe, and a catalogue of over 9600 philological texts (dictionaries, grammars, origin and history of languages, etc.) all in western languages, and all extensively indexed. With collations for all books and selective annotations.
Watanabe is the retired professor emeritus of Sophia University in Tokyo, past-President of the English Philological Society of Japan, and past-President of the Japan Association of Bibliophiles.
613. [WATKINS, BEN.] Complete Choctaw definer, English with Choctaw definition. Van Buren, Ark.: J. W. Baldwin, printer and publisher, 1892. $1, 000
First edition (5000 copies printed), 8vo, pp. 84, [10]; text in double column; original green cloth worn and soiled, joints cracked and text block almost loose from binding; but complete.
Graff 4557.
HANS SLOANE'S COPY, WITH THE RARE MAP, AND IN A CONTEMPORARY BINDING
614. WEBB, JOHN. An historical essay endeavouring a probability that the language of the empire of China is the primitive language. London: for Nath. Brook, 1669. $27, 500
First edition, first issue (the book was reissued in 1678 under a different title and without the map) of the first book on the Chinese language published in the West, and the first separate book on China by an Englishman.
Small 8vo, pp. [8], 212, [1] (errata), engraved folding map (usually lacking); title-p. printed in red and black; full contemporary sheep neatly rebacked, old spine and label neatly laid down; two or three minor worm holes and short tears to the margins, otherwise a very good, sound copy or better, with the engraved map in a fine state; with the bookplate of Royal Society founder, Hans Sloane.
Notes Harbsmeier, “Webb’s contribution to Sinology is so important because he summarized what could be gleaned on the Chinese language from the published Western literature, and because he was the first to make a systematic book-length attempt to define the place of Chinese among the languages of the world. His originality was limited to constructing out of these reports a case that Chinese was the original language of mankind before the building of the tower of Babel.”
Webb (1611-72) was an architect of note and a student of Inigo Jones, and later the executor of his will. There appears to be little biographical information about Webb, and what little there is gives no hint of his philological studies…”
Wing W1202; Alston III, 781; Lust 1005; Cordier, Sinica, 1577; Lowendahl, 142.
615. WEBSTER, NOAH. 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 … Revised and enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich. Springfield: George & Charles Merriam, 1848. $1, 500
First edition of the first Merriam-Webster dictionary; thick 4to, pp. lxxxiv, 1367; engraved frontis portrait after Samuel F.B. Morse (slightly offset onto title-p.); full original sheep, original black morocco label on spine; some rubbing and wear, but sound.
616. WEBSTER, N. An American dictionary of the English language; containing the whole vocabulary of the first edition in two volumes quarto … Revised and enlarged by Chauncey Goodrich. Springfield: George & Charles Merriam, 1849. $1, 250
Second printing of the first Webster dictionary published by the Merriams, large, thick 4to, pp. lxxxiv, 1367; engraved portrait of Webster by Andrews after Samuel F.B. Morse, text in triple column; full original sheep, black morocco label on spine; minor wear, but on the whole a very good, sound copy, and better than most.
A Merriam incunable, preceded only by the 1848 printing of the same (see item above), and the 1845 issue of the unsold sheets of the 1841 edition in 2 volumes, with cancelled Merriam title-pp. and other additions (see Skeel 588). An 1847 Merriam edition as reported first by Leavitt and subsequently by Burkett is by all accounts a ghost. The book was surely published on September 24th, 1847, but almost as surely with a title dated 1848, as no copy of an 1847 edition is extant.
617. WEBSTER, N. An American dictionary of the English language … revised and enlarged by Chauncey Goodrich. Springfield: George and Charles Merriam, 1852. $250
Large, thick 4to, engraved portrait of Webster by Andrews after Morse, pp. lxxxiv, 1366, [1]; original full sheep, black morocco label on spine; binding scuffed and rubbed, but sound; small hole in front free endpaper obscuring portions of six lines in the “Recommendations, ” several early ownership inscriptions of Kendrick R. French, Walnut Creek, California.
Based on Webster’s 1841 edition which contained his last corrections, as revised by his nephew, Chauncey Goodrich, professor at Yale. Contains prefaces by both Webster and Goodrich, and a life of Webster by Goodrich.
618. WEBSTER, N. An American dictionary of the English language … revised and enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich. Springfield: George and Charles Merriam, 1853. $375
Large, thick 4to, pp. lxxxiv, 1366, [1]; testimonials on endpapers; text in triple column; engraved portrait of Webster after Morse; original full sheep, black morocco label on spine; extremities scuffed and rubbed, but the binding is sound.
619. WEBSTER, N. An American dictionary of the English language … revised and enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich… Springfield, Mass.: George and Charles Merriam, 1863. $275
Large, thick 4to, pp. ccxliv, 1512; advertisements and testimonials on endpapers; full original sheep, back morocco labels; 1 label chipped at corner (no loss of letters), extremities rubbed and worn, else a good, sound copy. In this edition the illustrations, about 1500 of them, are segregated at the beginning.
620. WEBSTER, N. An American selection of lessons in reading and speaking. Calculated to improve the minds and refine the taste of youth … being the third part of the Grammatical Institute of the English Language. Thomas & Andrews’ thirteenth edition. Boston: Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews, 1803. $200
12mo, pp. vi, [7]-240; woodcut frontispiece pasted to inside of front board (as often); original calf with an early, handmade deerskin jacket sewn over the binding; title-p. browned from deerskin, text otherwise quite clean and the binding is sound.
Webster’s Reader was first published in 1785. After but two editions the title was changed to An American Selection (Phila., 1787). Other 18th century printings appeared in Albany, Hartford, Newport, Boston and New York.
Skeel 503.
621. WEBSTER, N. The American spelling book containing the rudiments of the English language, for the use of schools in the United States. The revised impression. Canandaigua: Bemis, Morse, & Ward, 1827. $125
Small 8vo, pp. 168; 8 vignette woodcuts illustrative of the fables; original calf rubbed and worn, hinges cracked, text stained and foxed, a number of leaves with short marginal tears occasionally with loss of letters (especially in the headlines) and text; but compete; the cuts are, in Skeel’s words, “now badly worn.”
Originally published in 1783 as A Grammatical Institute, Part I, the title was changed to The American Speller in 1787. The text underwent a substantial revision by Webster in 1804.
n Skeel 221 (locating 2 copies only); McMurtrie, Canadaigua, 103; American Imprints 31692 (locating the same 2 copies: Univ. of Michigan and Canadaigua Hist. Soc.)
622. WEBSTER, N. Genealogy. The following account has been compiled by N. Webster… [New Haven: 1836.] $275
8vo, 8pp., stitched, as issued, with 2 small corrections in the text in the hand of Noah Webster, in red pencil and in ink, as usual; fine copy.
Skeel 751: “This pamphlet was printed but not published, copies being given to each of Webster’s children and grandchildren for the purpose of preserving the history of the family … and to correct an error in Dr. Trumbull’s History of Connecticut”. Surprisingly, it is only the 11th printed genealogy of an American family.
623. WEBSTER, N. Webster genealogy. Compiled and printed for presentation only by Noah Webster. New Haven: 1836. With notes and corrections by his great-grandson, Paul Leicester Ford. Brooklyn: privately printed, 1876. $500
Folio, 15 leaves printed on the rectos only, engraved frontispiece portrait of the lexicographer after the painting by Samuel F.B. Morse, engraved title-page of A Dictionary of the English Language with a vignette showing Webster at work in his library (note: these two engraving are not in all copies of the Genealogy); 5 vignette illustrations of fables taken from early American editions of Webster’s Spellers; original plain gray paper wrappers, some splitting along top edge and spine, but generally a very good example of the first book by the eleven-year-old great-grandson of Webster, which he printed himself at his home in Brooklyn in an edition of 250 copies. The original edition of the Genealogy, published by Webster himself in octavo format and without illustrations, appeared in 1836 (see item above).
BAL 6140; Skeel 752.
624. WEBSTER, N. A grammatical institute of the English language … In three parts. Part II. Containing a plain and comprehensive grammar…. Hartford: printed by Barlow & Babcock, 1785. $3, 500
Second edition of Webster’s second book (only his very rare Speller - The Grammatical Institutes, Part I - of 1783 is earlier), 16mo, pp. 139; contemporary sheep-backed boards, mildly foxed throughout, one or two small stains, the whole slightly worn; sound, and pleasing.
Evans 19363; Skeel 406: “The contents are the same as the first edition except that a reference in a footnote to the forthcoming second edition of Part I has been deleted, and the preface has been expanded [and] has been set in smaller type, so that p. [6] is blank.” Also, the misattribution of Horace to the Latin quotation on the title-p. has in this edition been corrected from the first edition of 1784 to read “Cicero.”
625. WEBSTER, N. A grammatical institute of the English language … Part II. Containing a plain and comprehensive grammar… Philadelphia: Young and M’Culloch, 1787. $250
Third edition, revised and amended, 12mo, 132pp., contemporary sheep, juvenile inscriptions on pastedowns and prelims, occasionally obscuring a word; several leaves torn, but with no loss of text, except part of headline on K2, and a clean tear in G8 causing loss to the ends of ten lines.
First printing of Webster’s first revision of his Grammar. In writing to Hudson & Goodwin (the Hartford publishers of the early printings), Webster acknowledges that he will have this edition printed in Philadelphia, adding that it “will be much improved by the assistance of some books which Dr. Franklin has furnished me.” Evans 20869 noting that this is the first edition printed in Philadelphia.
Skeel 408.
626. WEBSTER, N. A grammatical institute of the English language… Part second. Containing a plain and comprehensive grammar… Hartford: Hudson and Goodwin, n.d., [probably 1794]. $125
“Fourth Connecticut Edition, ” 12mo, pp.129; original calf-backed blue paper-covered boards; front board cracked in two, last 3 leaves with clean tear from fore-margin to gutter but with no loss of text; otherwise good.
The Grammatical Institute, “an easy, concise, and systematic method of education, ” consists of three separately published volumes by Webster: The Speller, first published in 1783; this Grammar, in 1784; and the Reader, in 1785.
Evans 28048; Skeel 419 noting only 5 copies (1 imperfect).
A WEBSTER FAMILY COPY
627. WEBSTER, N. A grammatical institute of the English language… Part second. Containing a plain and comprehensive grammar… Hartford: Hudson and Goodwin, 1800. $275
“Sixth Connecticut Edition, ” 12mo, pp. 131; original calf-backed blue paper-covered boards; paper on boards peeling, calf chaffed along rear joint, waterstain pervades the first 10 pp. of text, rear hinge cracked, otherwise a good copy.
A Webster family copy with the ownership stamp of Webster’s son-in-law, William Chauncey Fowler, on the title-page, and the ownership signature of Webster’s grandson, Charles C. Fowler on the flyleaf.
Evans 39043; Skeel 427.
628. WEBSTER, N. An improved grammar of the English language. New Haven: printed and sold by Hezekiah Howe [et al.], 1831. $500
First revised edition, 12mo, pp. 180; full contemporary tree calf, red morocco label on spine; text foxed and with a few spots and stains, else a very good copy.
Webster’s Philosophical and Practical Grammar was first published in 1807 and was once reprinted in 1822. It did not achieve the success of either his Speller or his Dictionary, even though, excepting his quarto (1828) Dictionary he considered it “the most valuable work I have ever published” (letter to Lemuel Shattuck, 1829). By 1832, however, after the appearance of this revised edition, and in the wake of the success of his 1828 quarto, the prospects had changed. In a letter to W.C. Fowler in 1832 Webster writes: “Notwithstanding the colleges do not use my grammar, the teachers of academies are beginning to use it & demand for it increases.”
Skeel 435; American Imprints 10587.
629. WEBSTER, N. [Title in Japanese:] Sôyaku tsuzuriji-sho. Spelling book. [Edited by Gyoginshi Toyo.] [Translated by Yôyû Shisu.]. Tokyo: [Binsei Kyosho], 1871. $850
12mo, pp. [58] including first and last leaf used as pastedowns, as issued; original blue wrappers printed and sewn in the Japanese manner, printed paper label on upper cover; some wear, dampstain entering text at bottom margins, but generally good or better, and preserving the original printed wrap-around sleeve (fukuro). Spelling book in English, with a Japanese translation by Yôyû Shisui.
n Osaka Joshi Daigaiku Library, Selected Catalogue of Dutch and English Studies, B-5. NYPL only in OCLC.
630. WEBSTER, N. To the friends of literature. [New Haven: 1839.] $250
12mo, 12pp., stitched, as issued; some light spotting along the gutter edge, but generally fine.
Skeel 763, showing this to be the same text as that printed in broadside form in 1836, with slight changes.
See also Skeel 762: “An essay discussing orthography and pronunciation and the books which record and teach them, with particular reference to Webster’s series of books. This is followed by a testimonial subscribed by thirty-one senators and seventy-three representatives … The compiler believes the introductory matter and connective notes were written by Webster. In this (pamphlet) version the names are not given individually. From this point the text and recommendations are partly the same, partly new, the latest date being January, 1839…”
631. [WEBSTER, N.] Ford, Emily Ellsworth Fowler. Notes on the life of Noah Webster … Edited by Emily Ellsworth Ford Skeel. New York: privately printed, 1912 [i.e. 1913]. $675
First edition, 8vo, 2 volumes; presentation copy “from the daughter of Emily Ellsworth Fowler Ford [i.e. the editor, Emily E. F. Skeel], Xmas 1913” to [name erased]. A note on the verso of each title reads “Printed by Kathleen Gordon Ford Turle, Rosalie Greenleaf Ford Barr, Grace Kidder Ford Williams, Emily Ellsworth Ford Skeel, Worthington Chauncey Ford, Roswell Skeel, Jr.” A printer’s imprint at the end of each volume shows that the book was printed in Glasgow by Robert Maclehose & Co.
The work contains seven first printings of certain Webster materials (mostly extracts, letters and memoranda — see Skeel 766), and remains the best single source for the complete life of the famous lexicographer. With two frontis portraits (browned from acidic tissue) and 7 plates; extremities lightly rubbed and with some slight chipping, spines soiled, else a good, sound set in original blue cloth.
632. [WEBSTER, N.] Skeel, Emily Ellsworth Ford. A bibliography of the writings of Noah Webster … Edited by Edwin H. Carpenter. New York Public Library, 1958. $125
First edition limited to 500 copies, large 8vo, pp. xxxix, [1], 655, [2]; 26 plates showing numerous facsimiles; a very good copy in original blue cloth. The definitive study of the writings of Noah Webster, with detailed information on the myriad editions of his work up to 1845.
633. [WEBSTER, N.] Micklethwait, David. Noah Webster and the American Dictionary. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1999. $50
First edition of a fresh, new work on Webster and his greatest undertaking, the 1828 quarto An American Dictionary of the English Language, arguably the most popular American book ever published. 8vo, 320pp., illustrations, facsimiles, appendix, index.
634. WEEKLEY, ERNEST. An etymological dictionary of modern English. London: John Murray, 1921. $150
First edition, small 4to, pp. xx, 1660 columns, [1]; good, sound copy in original blue cloth, gilt lettering on spine. There was an American issue printed the same year, but no other edition was ever published.
Kennedy 8434
635. WEINHOLD, KARL. Mittelhochdeutsches Lesebuch. Mit Einer Laut- und Formenlehre des Mittelhochdeutschen und einem Wortverzeichnisse. Wien: Carl Gerold, 1850. $115
First edition, 8vo, pp. viii, 186; contemporary marbled paper-covered boards, paper label, slight rubbing; very good. Reading book of Middle High German, includes a section on phonology and accidence, and a glossary.
636. WEISSE, JOHN. Origin, progress, and destiny of the English language and literature. New York: J.W. Bouton, 1879. $150
First edition, thick 8vo, pp. 701, [1], 34 (ads); small gouge in cloth on back cover, some soiling, otherwise a good copy or better in original red cloth. “Dr. Weisse’s book is on one side a sort of ‘epitome encyclopedia’ of everything interesting which the doctor knows, and he seems to know something about almost everything … The reader is led through a vista of fourteen centuries of linguistic, literary and biographic progress, only to regret there are not three thousand years of it (Allibone Supplement, II, p. 1501).
637. WENTWORTH, HAROLD, & Stuart Berg Flexner. Dictionary of American slang. London [et al.]: George Harrap, 1960. $150
First English edition, 8vo, pp. xviii, 669; fore-edges spotted, else a fine, bright copy in a rather stunning red, white and blue dust-jacket. Uncommon edition in uncommon condition.
638. WHITE, RICHARD GRANT. Words and their uses, past and present. A study of the English language. New York: Sheldon and Co., 1870. $150
First edition, 8vo, pp. [2], 437; nice copy in original green cloth, gilt-lettered spine. Dedicated to James Russell Lowell. Most of the essays appearing in this volume had prior publication in the Galaxy 1867-69. “Witty, influential, and often unsound” (DAB).
639. [WHITER, WALTER.] Etymologicon magnum, or, universal etymological dictionary on a new plan. With illustrations drawn from various languages: English, Gothic, Saxon, German, Danish, &c. &c. Greek, Latin, - French, Italian, Spanish, - Gaelic, Irish, Welsh, Bretagne, &c. The dialects of the Slavonic; and the Eastern languages, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Sanscrit, Gipsey, Coptic, &c. &c. Part the first [all published]. Cambridge: printed by F. Hudson, for the author, 1800. $1, 350
First edition, 4to, pp. [8], xl, 507, [1], xxix, [2]; contemporary tree calf, red morocco label on gilt-decorated spine; corners bumped, spine quite rubbed, joints cracked, but the binding remains sound.
“An attempt at general etymology (not in alphabetical sequence) … Whither continued his fanciful enquiries in Etymologican universale, Cambridge, 1822-25, 3 volumes” (Alston). He was elected fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, in 1782, “probably on account of his reputation for classical and philological knowledge” (DNB).
“His nearly three thousand pages of endless etymologies must make him one of the contenders for first prize for length in a field where the competition is severe. Dissatisfied with the state of etymology, he was determined to find a general law that would be valid for all the phenomena of language irrespective of time and place. He found this law in his conviction that the same elementary consonants convey the same fundamental ideas in every part of the globe” (Aarsleff).
Alston V, 356; see Aarsleff, The Study of Language in England 1780-1860, pp. 77-9; Corns & Sparke, p. 244.
640. WHITNEY, WILLIAM DWIGHT. The Century dictionary: an encyclopedic lexicon of the English language. New York: The Century Co., 1906. $500
Large 4to, 10 volumes, text in triple column and with thousands of wood-engraved vignette illustrations throughout; a good, sound set in original maroon cloth, gilt lettering and ornamentation on spines, gilt crests on upper covers. Volume IX is devoted to Proper Names, and Volume X is the Atlas, prepared under the superintendence of Benjamin E. Smith, with 118 double-p. maps printed in color, plus index maps.
In 1882 Charles Annandale greatly enlarged Ogilvie’s Imperial Dictionary (1850), which came to be the basis for The Century Dictionary, an American work modeled after the OED. Whitney, the well-known Sanskrit scholar and linguist, was its editor. Wonderfully printed at the Devinne Press in New York, this massive compilation is regularly touted as being one of the most beautiful dictionaries ever made, which says nothing of its excellent scholarship.
641. WHITWORTH, GEORGE CLIFFORD. An Anglo-Indian dictionary. A glossary of Indian terms used in English, and of such English or other non-Indian terms as have obtained special meanings in India. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1885. $125
First edition, 8vo, pp. xv, [1], 350, [1]; ex-Forbes Library, Northampton, with pocket inside back cover, rubber- and perforated stamp on title-p., and small, neat accession numbers on spine; in spite of this being ex-library, a very good copy in original brown cloth gilt lettered direct on spine.
642. WIDEGREN, GUSTAF. Svenskt och Engelskt lexicon, efter Kongl. Secreteraren sahlstedts Svenska ordbok. Stockholm: Johan A. Carlbohm, 1788. $300
First edition, 4to, pp. [10], 897, [1]; lexicon in double column; contemporary and probably original calf-backed speckled paper-covered boards; a bit rubbed, but sound. In his preface, Widegren offers that a companion volume would be published in the future, but it was never done.
Not in Vancil; not in Zaunmüller; Haugen 1308.
643. WILDE, ARCHER. Sounds and signs: a criticism of the alphabet with suggestions for reform. London: Constable, 1914. $150
First edition, 12mo, pp. viii, 180; 2 plates of alphabets; a fine copy in a slightly worn jacket. Another voice for spelling reform, with accounts of Pitman and Ellis, phonetics and phonography, and proposed reforms.
644. WILKINS, JOHN. An essay towards a real character and a philosophical language. London: printed for Sa. Gellibrand, and for John Martyn, printer to the Royal Society, 1668. $4, 500
First edition, folio, pp. [20], 454, [2], [158]; woodcut arms of the Royal Society on the title-p., includes the errata and approbation leaves and the sectional title at the back for An Alphabetical Dictionary wherein all English Words according to their Various Significations are Referred to their Places… London, 1668, which is an index of words referred to in the whole work; 1 small engraving in the text, 2 full-p. engraved plates in the text (trimmed close and bound in upside down, one with clean tear); other tables and diagrams, several different fonts use sparingly, including Chinese and black letter; this copy includes the two extra folding tables (after 3L1) and two extra plates (after Y3 and 2B1 respectively) which are not in all copies (but in our experience are in most); a very good, sound copy in recent tan niger morocco, red morocco label on spine.
The text, the first full exposition of universal language in English, contains sections on the origin of languages and letters, the theory of grammar and phonetics and their relation to universal language, and the proposed alphabet for Wilkins’s devised universal language.
Wilkins (1614-1672), bishop of Chester, was proficient in both mathematics and astronomy, and was an early proponent of, and active in the foundation of certain weekly meetings of learned men of his time, which subsequently became the Royal Society, of which he was the first secretary. In 1648, he was made warden of Wadham College, Oxford, where he became intimate with Boyle, Wren and Evelyn. In 1656 he married Cromwell’s sister. Wilkins’ interest in universal language goes back to 1641 when he published the anonymous Mercury, or the secret and swift messenger, “the first rudimentary attempt at constructing a framework for a universal language and alphabet, though it had obvious connections with the development in England of both short-hand and cypher” (see Alston VIII, 277). His Essay, though, is considered his most important work, in which he was assisted by John Ray, Francis Willoughby, and others. It is said that this work inspired Ray to develop his own botanical classification, and lead him later to publish his work on proverbs.
Wing W-2196; Alston VII, 290 (noting that all copies do not contain the plates as are present here); Lowndes, p. 2922: “A masterpiece of invention … The index, which is also in its kind a masterpiece, is by Dr. Wm. Lloyd.” Vancil, p. 275 citing the Scolar Press reprint of 1968 only; Keynes, John Ray, 6 (Ray contributed a chapter to the book “for the regular enumeration and defining of all the plants”).
645. WILLARD, SIDNEY. A Hebrew grammar compiled from some of the best authorities. Cambridge: printed at the University Press by Hilliard and Metcalf, 1817. $285
First edition, 8vo, pp. xv, 86; a rubbed but sound copy in original calf-backed marbled paper-covered boards.
Willard’s father and grandfather were both presidents of Harvard. For twenty-four years he was Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages at Harvard, and in later years a dedicated public servant serving as both state senator and mayor of Cambridge.
In his preface Willard argues for his book citing the great expense to which students of theology must go to procure suitable Hebrew grammars. But surely he was not ignorant of Sewall’s (1802, 1806, 1812), Smith’s (1803, 1810), Stuart’s (1813), and Carvalho’s (1815) Hebrew grammars, all but the last printed in either Cambridge or Boston to meet the Harvard demand. Ironically, this copy bears a 1819 ownership inscription of Samuel B. Mead of Yale.
646. WILLIAMS, ARA. A universal vocabulary of proper names, ancient and modern; together with classes of people, religious, national, and philosophical; and titles, ecclesiastical and civil… Cincinnati: E. Deming, 1831. $375
First edition, 8vo, pp. 536; contemporary and probably original stained calf, spine with blindstamped ornaments and decoration, black morocco label; the text is limp and a bit browned, fore-edges foxed, but otherwise good and sound.
A second edition was called for the following year. An early American biographical dictionary, for use in the home, for readers generally, and as a school book.
Not in Vancil.
647. WILLIAMS, JOHN. The readable dictionary, or, topical and synonymic lexicon … for the use of schools and private students. Columbus, O[hio]: M.C. Lilley, 1860. $150
First edition, 8vo, pp. v, [1], xxiv, 360; lexicon in double column; very good in original quarter black calf, gilt-lettered spine with “Ohio School Library” beneath title. Lexicon is non-alphabetical, and is classified by subjects; with sections on Latin and Greek roots, and abbreviations. Cordell STC shows the compiler to be from Lancaster, Ohio, and lists at least two other printings of the book, the last being 1868 in New York.
Vancil, p. 275.
PRINTED AT MACAO
648. WILLIAMS, S. WELLS. Ying Hwá Yun-fú Lih-kiái. An English and Chinese vocabulary, in the court dialect. Macao: printed at the office of the Chinese Repository, 1844. $2, 500
First edition, thick 8vo, pp. [6], lxxxviii, 440; parallel title in Chinese on heavier paper and bound in as a frontispiece; interleaved throughout; text in double column, English entries with Chinese equivalents and pronunciations; a number of leaves with neat paper repair at inner lower corner, 2 of which affecting text (pp. 25 and 75), but without loss; later half brown morocco over marbled boards; joints and extremities rubbed, ex-Brooklyn Institute blindstamp and old red chop-mark on title-p.; all else very good.
The preliminaries include a list of philological works on the Chinese language, and a list of principal translations.
? Astor Catalogue of Books Relating to the Languages and Literature of Asia, Africa and the Oceanic Islands (1854), p. 137; Trubner’s Catalogue of Dictionaries and Grammars (1882), p. 34; Cordier, Sinica, 1598 Dunn, 511; not in Vancil or Zaunmüller.
649. WILLIAMS, WILLIAM, Bishop Of Waiapu, New Zealand. A dictionary of the New Zealand language… With numerous additions and corrections, an introduction, and a new English-Maori vocabulary. Auckland: Upton and Co.; London: Williams and Norgate, 1892. $125
Fourth edition. 8vo, pp. xv, [1], 325; ex-library copy minimally marked in original navy cloth lettered in gilt on spine, worn at fore-corners with spine ends chipped, inch-long tear at center back joint, and hinges cracking; overall good and sound. The first edition of Williams’ work appeared in 1844, and the third in 1871. This is apparently the first with revisions.
650. WILLIAMSON, JOHN P. An English-Dakota dictionary. Wasicun ka Dakota Ieska wowapi. New York: American Tract Society, 1902. $175
First edition, 8vo, pp. [2], xviii, 264; original quarter brown morocco, rubbed and scuffed, but sound. Based on the author’s English-Dakota School Dictionary published in Yankton, Dakota Territory in 1886.
651. WILLSON, MARCIUS. Primer. Uiruson-shi Puraimaru: Eigaku Hitori keiko. Zen. [Translated by Sadakichi Sekine.] Tokyo: Sawa-ya, 1884. $350
Small 8vo, pp. [90]; original printed paper-covered boards backed in black cloth; title-p. darkened, else very good.
Not found in RLIN or OCLC. Primary lessons for the Japanese student learning English.
652. WILSON, JAMES, Sir. Lowland Scotch as spoken in the lower Strathearn district of Perthshire. With a Foreword by W.A. Craige. London [et al.]: Oxford University Press, 1915. $50
First edition, 8vo, pp. [4], 276; frontispiece; original printed boards; effectively but not brilliantly rebacked, hinges cracked at title-p. and p. 270; boards a little worn; issued for the Philological Society. Craige, one of the editors of the O.E.D., provides a foreword, and the in his acknowledgements, Wilson cites James Murray and Craige “who have kindly helped me out of the wealth of their experience…”
Kennedy 11297.
DEDICATED TO SAMUEL JOHNSON
653. WILSON, T[HOMAS], Rev. An archaeological dictionary; or classical antiquities of the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, alphabetically arranged… London: T. Cadell [et al.], 1783. $500
First edition, 8vo, pp. [8], unpaginated lexicon in double column; contemporary full sheep, unlettered spine with gilt fillets; long vertical crack in spine, spine ends chipped level with text block; good and sound.
Dedicated to Samuel Johnson who in fact presented a copy of his Lives of the Poets to Wilson, probably in 1783. The second edition of 1793 printed Johnson’s 2-page reply written two years before his death, and also reprinted in Boswell’s Life: “The esteem and wiseness of kind and good men is one of the last pleasures which I can be content to lose; and gratitude to those from whom this pleasure is received, is a duty of which I hope never to be reproached with the final neglect.”
Not in Chapman & Hazen nor Courtney & Smith; see Fleeman 88.3L/4
FROM THE MERRIAM-WEBSTER REFERENCE LIBRARY
654. THE WINSTON SIMPLIFIED DICTIONARY. Three different models of this popular dictionary, as below.Philadelphia [etc.]: The John C. Winston Co., 1934-35. $125
I. The “Primary Edition, with every word defined so that its meaning can be easily understood.” II. “Intermediate Edition, with every word defined so that its use and meaning can be easily understood.” III. “Advanced Edition.” Edited by William Dodge Lewis, Edgard A. Singer, Henry Seidel Canby, and Thomas Kite Brown. Each of these dictionaries comes from the reference library at Merriam Webster, and each bears their rubberstamp and spine shelf labels. All are in very good condition or better, in original green cloth.
655. [WIRKBERG, JOHN.] Recueil polyglotte des expressions postales les plus usitees en francais, en allemand, en anglais, en russe, en suedois, et en finnois, avec quelque expressions correspondentes en italien et en espagnol. Helsingfors: imprimerie centrale d’Helsingfors, 1902. $185
First edition, 8vo, pp. vi, [2], 96; original limp red calf, gilt lettering on upper cover; small stain on upper cover, gift inscription on floral flyleaf; otherwise very good.
“Being unable to find any book containing in several languages the postal terms during my stay abroad, which was partly spent with the view of studying the different postal systems; I have published this work, in the hope, that it may be of some use to post office officials” (afterword). Not in NUC: an enlarged edition appeared in 1924 (one copy only).
656. WITHERS, GEORGE. The English language spelled as pronounced, with enlarged alphabet of forty letters … A plea for a simple, consistent, and uniform method of spelling… London: Trubner & Co.; Liverpool: J. Wollard, 1874. $125
8vo, pp. [4], 76, [4]; alphabetical tables in text and occasional phonetic spelling; original printed wrappers, chipped and loosening, spine partially perished. The second of three pamphlets by Withers on reformed orthography.
Kennedy 1186.
657. WORTABET, WILLIAM THOMSON, John Wortabet & Harvey Porter. Arabic-English dictionary. Beyrout, 1893. $225
Second edition, revised and enlarged, 8vo, unpaginated; original black morocco backed pebbled cloth, spine gilt, covers blind stamped; covers a bit worn, hinges cracked; a good, sound copy. Still considered a standard tool for students of Arabic.
658. WRENCH, R. G. K. Winchester word-book. A collection of past and present notions. Winchester: J. Wells; London: D. Nutt, 1891. $225
Sm. 4to, pp. viii, 53; woodcut frontis and vignette title-p; original stiff paper wrappers, soiled; generally good and sound. Dictionary of the dialect words used at Winchester College.
659. WRIGHT, ELIZABETH MARY. Rustic speech and folk-lore. London [et al.]: Oxford Univ. Press, 1913. $225
First edition, 8vo, pp. xx, 341, [1]; near fine copy in original blue cloth, gilt lettering on spine and upper cover.
A wealth of useful information, including sections on dialect speakers, corruptions and popular etymologies, foreign loan words, literary words with dialect meanings, popular sayings and expressions, Valentine’s Day and Halloween, charms and medical lore, plus much more.
660. YAMADA, SHOSEI. Eigaku hikkei. An English spelling-book, with reading lessons, for beginners. New edition. Tokio: Yamasiroya, 5th year of Meiji, [1872]. $1, 250
2 volumes, 12mo (180 x 122 mm.), 54 and 48 double-fold pages, title-pp. in English and Japanese, the Japanese title on pink paper and used as front pastedown; original blue wrappers, printed paper labels on each (that on vol. I with partial loss); sewn in the Oriental manner; some worming to the first volume, mostly confined to the margins; front cover of vol. I stained; moderate wear; good or better.
Instruction for English spelling laid out in 10 courses: the alphabet, syllables and words of two [-three, -four, -five] letters, diphthongs, vowels, etc.
n A Critical Bibliography of Materials for English Studies in Japan. Collected by Osaka Women’s University, 1962, no. 108.
661. YATES, WILLIAM. A dictionary in Sanskrit and English, designed for the use of private students and of Indian colleges and schools. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press, 1846. $450
First edition, thick 8vo, pp. iv, 928; text in double column; bookplate of the Baptist Mission House, London; endpapers, early and late leaves dampstained; binding of contemporary half calf, black morocco label is quite waterstained, with total loss to the cloth on the upper cover, cloth on the lower cover waterstained; nonetheless, the binding is sound, the contents clean and as the book sits on the shelf it is not unattractive.
Based on the earlier dictionary by Horace Hayman Wilson (Calcutta, 1819 and 1832 - the only previously published English-Sanskrit dictionary) and published posthumously with the assistance of Wenger. In 1831 Yates received, oddly, a master’s degree from Brown University in Providence, R.I.
Not in the Astor Catalogue of Books on the Languages and Literature of Asia, Africa and the Oceanic Islands; Trubner Catalogue, p. 137; Vancil, p. 282; Zaunmüller, col. 338.
662. YENDO, AIZO P. Letter writer for Japanese students … for common schools and seminaries. Tokyo: Hakubundo, 1886. $275
First edition, 8vo, pp. ix, [1], 40, [98]; original gray wrappers printed in black and red; near fine. Introduction by A. B. Langdon who proposes that English become the national language of Japan. Includes sections on letters of friendship, letters of condolence, mercantile letters, invitations, official letters, etc.
Not in OCLC.
663. [YONGE, CHARLOTTE.] History of Christian names. By the author of ‘The Heir of Redclyffe, ’ ‘Landmarks of History, ’ etc. London: Parker, Son, and Bourn, 1863. $125
First edition, 2 vols., 8vo, pp. cxliv, 446, [1] ads; viii, 504, 8 (ads); original green cloth, spines faded to brown, hinges cracked, spine ends cracked, vertical tear in spine of vol. 2 but without loss; a fair copy of an interesting book.
664. YOSKIKAWA, MANZABURO & Toshio Sugawara. Eidoku Taiyaku. Gakugo-hen. Shohen. Zen. [Edited by Zensaku Nishimura, Yasunosuke Yoshida, and Junjiro Nakamura.] Kyoto: Shobousha-shi, 1872. $950
8vo (approx. 7 1/4” x 5”), 34 leaves folded and sewn in the Japanese manner, printed front pastedown, xylographically printed throughout, original yellow wrappers with pink printed label on upper cover; minor staining, very good. Text largely in double column and arranged in squares, one word or phrase of English with Japanese equivalent and phonetic pronunciation for each in katakana and kangi.
Not found in OCLC or RLIN. A Critical Bibliography of Materials for English Studies in Japan. Collected by Osaka Women’s University, 1962, no. 149.
665. YOUNG, A.H., Rev. An introduction to the study of Oriya. Cuttack: Orissa Mission Press, 1900. $125
First edition of what appears to be Young’s only book, 12mo, pp. [4], ii, 163; small puncture hole coming through back cover and into last dozen or so leaves (no loss), otherwise very good in original black cloth, gilt lettering on spine. Contains brief word lists and reading lessons, including 15pp. of fables.
Only 1 copy in NUC.
666. YOUNG, WILLIAM, Rev. A new Latin-English dictionary, containing all the words proper for reading the classical writers … to which is prefixed, an English-Latin dictionary, carefully compiled from the best authors. London: A. Wilson, 1810. $200
Stereotyped edition, 8vo, pp. [16] plus unpaginated lexicon in triple column; good and sound in contemporary full calf, red morocco label on gilt-decorated spine.
This edition not in Vancil.
BURCHFIELD'S REVIEW COPY, WITH NOTES AND A DRAFT
667. ZANDVOORT, R. W., [et al.]. Wartime English. Materials for a linguistic history of World War II. Groningen & Djakarta: J. B. Wolters, 1957. $500
First edition, 8vo, pp. ix, [1], 254; original pale blue wrappers printed in blue; good and sound.
This is a review copy, submitted by the publisher to the Review of English Studies for review, with RES “Guidance for Contributors” (4-p. leaflet printed on blue paper) laid in; also laid in is a Wolter’s invoice made out to the Editors of the RES, 2 postcards from the editor of the RES asking for a review and addressed to the reviewer, Robert W. Burchfield, editor of the OED Supplements. Also laid in are two quarto pages of notes by Burchfield, made during his review (one being a rough draft of the review itself), and finally, a proof of the printed review from RES. Also with Burchfield’s ownership signature and a note on the half-title in his hand reading: “Has not consulted American Speech, ” plus a number of other annotations in the margins in pencil throughout.
668. ZAUNMÜLLER, WOLFRAM. Bibliographisches handbuch der sprachworter bucher … An annotated bibliography of language dictionaries. Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann, 1958. $150
First and only edition, lg. 8vo, pp. xvi & 496 columns (thus paged); original tan cloth, publisher’s slipcase; generally a fine copy. Bibliographical listing of printed dictionaries, arranged by language. Standard reference.
669. ZDRUBEK, FRANTISEK BOLESLAV. Základové ceského pravopisu a mluvnice pro skoly cesko- americké. Chicago: Nákl. A. Geringera, 1889. $150
Second edition, 16mo, pp. 92; folding table; original blue printed boards, blue cloth shelf-back; a few spots and stains, but generally good and sound.
Zdrubek (1842-1911) was also the compiler of a Bohemian-English dictionary, wrote a number of classroom history and theological texts for the Czech citizens of the United States, and translated Thomas Paine’s Age of Reason into Czech.
Two copies in OCLC: Minn. Hist. Soc. and the National Czech Museum in Iowa.
670. ZEISBERGER, DAVID. Zeisberger’s Indian dictionary English, German, Iroquois — the Onondaga and Algonquin — the Delaware printed from the original manuscript in Harvard College Library. Cambridge: John Wilson and Son, University Press, 1887. $385
First edition, large paper copy, with a slightly altered title (as noted in Pilling), 4to, pp. v, [1], 236; near fine copy in original terra cotta cloth, gilt lettering on spine.
Zeisberger labored as a Moravian missionary chiefly among the Delaware Indians in the Ohio region for better than sixty years, from 1740 until his death in 1808. In 1745 he took part in arranging the treaty that allied the Six Nations with the English, and in 1791 he established a Delaware settlement in Fairfield on the banks of the Thames River in Upper Canada. The dictionary was prepared for the press from Zeisberger’s manuscript in the library at Harvard by Eben Norton Horsford.
Pilling, Algonquin, pp. 546-47
Catalogue 138
Page 1, Items 1-100
Page 2, Items 101-200
Page 3, Items 201-300
Page 4, Items 301-400
Page 5, Items 401-500
Page 6, Items 501-600
Page 7, Items 601-670
Page 8, Barnhart Dictionary Archive
Page 9, A Note on Condition
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