Bidspirit auction | 1849. Webster, Noah. An American

1849. Webster, Noah. An American Dictionary of the English Language. G. & C. Merriam. - This single volume is a mid-19th-century quarto edition of An American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster, revised and enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich. Published in 1849 by George and Charles Merriam in Springfield, Massachusetts, the work contains the vocabulary of the first quarto edition and corrections from the second royal octavo edition. The volume is bound in full leather with raised bands on the spine and a damaged black leather label featuring gilt lettering that reads Websters Dictionary Unabridged. The interior features nonpareil marbled endpapers and a frontispiece engraving of Noah Webster by J. Andrews and S.A. Schoff, after a painting by S.F.B. Morse. The title page identifies Webster as a member of numerous prestigious organizations, including the American Philosophical Society and the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries. The text is printed in three columns and includes an introductory dissertation on the origin and history of languages, as well as pronouncing vocabularies of Scripture, classical, and geographical names. Poor to fair. The leather binding exhibits significant deterioration, including heavy scuffing, large areas of leather loss on the boards, and substantial rot to the spine with missing material at the head and tail. The spine label is chipped with partial loss of the gilt title. Internally, there is widespread foxing and age-related staining, which is particularly heavy on the frontispiece and title page. The hinges are tender, and the edges of the text block show toning and minor wear.