Books

The first H. J. Todd edition of Johnson's 'Dictionary' an expanded edition of this important work. Complete in four volumes. Longmans also published a set of this same work complete in five volumes in 1818.This is the first edition to be edited with corrections and additions by the Reverend H. J. Todd. Todd was an Anglican cleric, and librarian at Lambeth Palace, who is known for being an editor of John Milton.'A Dictionary of the English Language' is one of the most influential dictionaries in the historyof the English language, and was the pre-eminent English dictionary under the 'Oxford English Dictionary' was completed one-hundred and seventy-three years after Johnson's was published.Johnson took around seven years to complete this dictionary, and worked on it single-handedly.'An English Grammar' and 'A History of the Language' are included.Volume I contains A - Cza, Volume II D - Hyt, Volume III I - Quo, Volume IV R - Zoo.Samuel Johnson was a noted English author of the eighteenth century, well perceived in his friend James Boswell's 'The Life of Samuel Johnson', which is considered to be one of the most important biographies ever written.Lacking the frontispiece. In a half morocco binding with cloth to the boards. Externally, a little rubbed to the leather. Rubbing has resulted in a small amount of loss of leather to the extremities, and to the rear board of Volume I. Lighter rubbing to the boards. Minor bumping to the extremities. Spines are a little faded. Rear board of Volume I is faded. Boards of Volume II, III, and IV are a little faded. Small chip to the tail of the front joint of Volumes II and IV. Hinges of Volume I starting but firm. Front hinge of Volumes II and IV are starting but firm. Rear hinge of Volume III is starting but firm. Spots to the endpapers. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are very lightly age-toned and generally clean with scattered spots, mostly to the first and last few pages. Title page of Volume III is repaired, with an additional leaf adhered to the verso. Good.

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.