A dictionary of the English language: in which the words are deduced from their originals ... abstracted from the folio edition by the author ... to which are prefixed a grammar of the English language, and the preface to the folio edition.
Philadelphia: Jacob Johnson & Co., 1805. First American edition of Johnson's dictionary, here printed in abridged (but not miniature) form, and based on the London octavos; thick 8vo, pp. xl, [2], unpaginated lexicon in double column; full contemporary calf, red morocco label on spine; spine chipped 3/4" at the top, binding scuffed and rubbed, but sound; a good copy, or better. With the early ownership signatures on the flyleaf of Polly and Anne White, Franklin, 1815. Contains the first appearance in the western hemisphere of Johnson's famous Preface and Grammar. The entries have been abbreviated, but bear considerable resemblance to the originals, and there are also brief etymologies; sources are cited, but citations are not. The first complete American edition did not appear until the 2-volume quarto edition of Philadelphia, 1818. Miniature editions appeared in Boston and Philadelphia in 1804 under Johnson's name, but the definitions bear no resemblance whatsoever to the originals. See Alston V, p. 37-9; American Imprints 8705; Vancil, p. 124. Item #28882
Price: $750.00
