A vocabulary, or collection of words and phrases which have been supposed to be peculiar to the United States of America. To which is prefixed an essay on the present state of the English Language in the United States.
Boston: Cummings and Hilliard, 1816. First complete and best edition of the first book of Americanisms, 8vo, pp. [2], [9]- 206, [1]; later quarter straight-grain maroon morocco, gilt lettering direct on spine, old paper label adhered to spine, extremities rubbed, but otherwise good and sound. From the library of the marine historian and illustrator, Clifford, W. Ashley, with his bookplate laid in. Pickering wrote a number of philological pieces for the periodical press, as well as an important Greek lexicon, and he was the leading authority of his time on the languages of the North American Indian. This vocabulary of the American idiom was the first of its kind, and was a valuable source for Webster. This wortk on Americanisms appeared originally, in abbreviated form, in the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 1815, and was reprinted separately the same year. Here, it is printed with many corrections and additions and containing a vocululary nearly twice the size. It was the only work on the subject until Bartlett's work in mid-century, and is still useful today. Sabin 62638; American Imprints 38631. Item #23575
Price: $850.00
