Books

Sixth edition. Two volumes. Quarto. Contemporary full brown diced calf, the boards ruled in gilt, the spine with compartments ruled in gilt and titles in gilt. Marbled endpapers. Engraved portrait frontispiece of Johnson after a painting by Joshua Reynolds to volume one. Half-title present in volume one. Contemporary owner's name in ink to the head of the title page of volume one. Skillfully re-backed with the original spines neatly re-laid, the boards likewise neatly re-cornered. A very good copy, the bindings square and firm with some scuffing to the boards (more so to the lower boards, particularly that of volume two). The contents with spotting and a watermark to the lower blank margin of the frontispiece, some light spotting to the preliminary pages (heavier to the title page of volume two) and occasionally elsewhere, a little wear to the foot of the front free endpaper of volume two, and a light tide-mark to the fore-edge margin of 16pp. of volume two, are otherwise in very good order. A handsome, sturdy set. The first London quarto edition of Samuel Johnson's celebrated dictionary of the English language, also notable as being the first edition to include a portrait of Johnson, and the first to be printed after his death in December 1784. (Fleeman 55.4D/8; Alston V 186; ESTC T116655). Please note: This is a heavy set which may require additional shipping costs for overseas customers.

Samuel Johnson's 'A Dictionary of the English Language' is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language. First published on 15 April 1755, the dictionary offered comprehensive definitions and illustrative examples of usage.