If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
original edition 1800's WEBSTERS dictionary-1500 pages-ebay-$25
|
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
original edition 1800's WEBSTERS dictionary-1500 pages-ebay-$25
Can anyone verify that the book is a first edition from the information available? |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
original edition 1800's WEBSTERS dictionary-1500 pages-ebay-$25
66fourdoor offered:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...100677&rd=1&ss... Laurence asked: Can anyone verify that the book is a first edition from the information available? It is not. ER Lyon |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
original edition 1800's WEBSTERS dictionary-1500 pages-ebay-$25
"xerlome" wrote in message oups.com... 66fourdoor offered: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...100677&rd=1&ss... Laurence asked: Can anyone verify that the book is a first edition from the information available? It is not. ER Lyon That's one of the most unintentionally-humorous eBay auctions ever, and almost enough to make me start up the AntiFAQs again. In trying to convince us that the book is from1828, the seller types: "THIS IS DEFINITELY A VERY OLD BOOK BECAUSE THE WORD "AUTOMOBILE" IS NOT IN IT- THIS BOOK PREDATES THE INVENTION OF THE CAR" Kris |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
original edition 1800's WEBSTERS dictionary-1500 pages-ebay-$25
66fourdoor wrote:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MESE%3AIT&rd=1 Laurence wrote: Can anyone verify that the book is a first edition from the information available? I don't know what this particular issue is, but there have been various cheaply made modified reprints of early Webster dictionaries. Usually these reprints will show the actual date of printing, perhaps 1890s or early 1900s. The ones i've seen are based on 1840s or 50s originals. Not only is this not an 1828 "American Dictionary," but almost certainly not even a reprint of that edition. I say "almost" only because i don't absolutely know that some publisher didn't use that edition and add extra material. The fact that there are pictures immediately betrays that it is not an original Webster. The first pictures were added to the 1859 Merriam edition. I have a cheap reprint of this published by Saalman, 1900, with a picture section that looks like what is shown in the eBay offering. It also includes some material not originally in that edition. This might be the one being offered on eBay. Another clue is that no "original" Webster claims to be an original Webster. The front cover of one i have has "THE ORIGINAL WEBSTER"S UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY" imprinted on it. It is based on the 1847 edition, and is published by Donohue & Henneberry, 1894. The only picture it has is a low grade engraving of Noah Webster. But the 1847 is not "the original Webster's", but the first revision published by Merriam. All of the reprints i've seen, from near turn of the century, look "very old" because they were so poorly made that they aged very quickly, even to the point of falling apart. The paper is pulp, the bindings are poor, and the printing terrible. The three different reprint issues i have will go to dust before my authentic 1854 printing of the 1847 reaches their level of deterioration. However, based on the eBay picture, it may not be too bad. I would not pay the price asked for the eBay item. You can buy a quality *new* reprint of the 1828 from the Foundation for American Christian Education, $65.00 normally, but $52.00 until December 31. That's today, so call right away, 800-352-3223 - Not to be promoting it, but this might be as low as you'll see unless you're pretty lucky. Used copies are usually sold by dealers for more than this. I saw one for $100.00 recently. Be forewarned that it is not entirely a reprint, but has an added introductory section. It was first published in 1967. F.A.C.E. publishes the 1828 because they favor Noah Webster's Christian bias in writing definitions, and his fanciful etymologies and history of language based on the Bible. They reject corrections and revisions, as well as modern usage and dictionaries, as sacreligious and erroneous. I'm glad they published it, though, because it is well made and actual originals are through the roof pricewise - I saw one once, an enormous two volume set for $3,000. But the 1828 was not Noah Webster's final edition. He produced a somewhat expanded revision in 1840. If F.A.C.E. wanted to publish all that Webster had to offer, they ought to have used that edition instead. After his death, the 1847 and 1859 modest revisions by Chauncey Goodrich were pretty much what Webster created, but added a little vocabulary and removed what were referred to as (if i recall correctly) his "excrescences." So if you want a Noah Webster dictionary, and you aren't fussy about the fine details, one of the cheap reprints of early posthumous revisions may be all you need. ER Lyon |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
FS: NFL & CFL out-of-print Books | J.R. Sinclair | Football (US) | 0 | June 9th 04 06:42 AM |
FS: Vinyl 12" Picture Discs LPs (A-J) Part 1 | J.R. Sinclair | General | 0 | May 11th 04 06:27 AM |
FS: Vinyl 12" Picture Discs (A-J) Part 1 | J.R. Sinclair | General | 0 | March 24th 04 05:29 AM |
do not forward OFF this group that Xlist | dahoov2 | Autographs | 4 | March 9th 04 03:45 AM |
How to avoid getting cheated on eBay - periodic post | Reid Goldsborough | Coins | 1 | August 16th 03 01:30 AM |