Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸

$75.00
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸
Webster's International Dictionary (1890s Printing) - Unique 19th-Century Anti-Theft Rhyme 📜🖋️🇺🇸

This volume is an authenticated later 19th-century printing of Webster's International Dictionary (Academic Edition), published by the American Book Company under the foundational 1867 copyright.

This book is a foundational reference text of the Reconstruction and Gilded Ages, essential for documenting 19th-century American education and language. Its collectible value is secured by its extreme age and the non-replicable layer of personal and social history.

This piece is a strong acquisition for collectors of Americana who appreciate artifacts that vividly document the domestic culture of the late 19th century.

 

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨

 

This is the "Academic Edition," a comprehensive dictionary containing explanatory, pronouncing, etymological, and synonymous entries. It is explicitly a carefully abridged edition of the much larger Quarto Dictionary of Noah Webster, making it practical for a student or home library. The book is described as being "Illustrated with more than Three Hundred and Fifty Engravings on Wood," a key artistic feature of 19th-century reference works.

The book's dedication to precise scholarship is noted by the editorial involvement of Noah Porter, D.D., L.L.D., of Yale University, who served as Editor in Chief. The inclusion of an Appendix containing various useful tables further establishes the book’s utility as a general reference tool for the American home. It is a massive, enduring example of late 19th-century academic publishing.

 

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

 

The foundation of this work rests with Noah Webster (1758–1843), the American lexicographer whose dictionaries fundamentally defined American English usage, spelling, and pronunciation, intentionally moving away from British standards. After his death, the publishing rights were acquired by the Merriam family, who continued to publish the revised and enlarged dictionary, using Webster's name.

The scholarly authority for this particular edition comes from William G. Webster and William A. Wheeler, who handled the abridgment. The role of Noah Porter, D.D., L.L.D., of Yale University, as Editor in Chief, underscores the strong connection between American lexicography and the academic institutions of the East Coast. This book is the result of a concerted, post-Civil War effort to create the definitive, authoritative reference for the American language.

 

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

 

The book's copyright date of 1867 and its 1890s printing date firmly position it within the American Reconstruction and Gilded Ages. This was a time of intense national growth, marked by rapid immigration, industrialization, and a strong push for standardized public education.

The dictionary served as a cultural tool in this era, standardizing the English language for millions of immigrants and newly literate citizens. The inscription dated September 8, 1891, places the book right before the economic downturn of the 1893 panic, a moment when American industry was at its peak. This dictionary is a time capsule of American academic and cultural aspirations of the late 19th century, documenting the precise linguistic framework used to define a rapidly changing and modernizing nation.

 

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

 

This volume is tailored for a Curator of American Lexicography and Social Ephemera and a Scholar of 19th-Century American Education. The Ideal Collector is someone who appreciates the intersection of literary history and the unique documentation of individual lives.

The book belongs in a collection that focuses on American Schoolroom and Library History. The inclusion of the owner's name, the date 1891, and the rare, full anti-theft inscription elevate the item into a realm where its documented human history is the paramount non-replicable asset.

 

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

 

This dictionary is an authenticated 19th-century printing (Copyright 1867) and is over 130 years old. As a reference volume, it is a common edition that had a large print run. This status mandates a mandatory deduction from the aspirational ceiling price.

The book's value is entirely secured by the extraordinary Ephemera Premium derived from its unique content: the full anti-theft rhyme and the inscription dated 1891. This non-replicable historical content overrides the severe physical flaws, including the heavy ink spillage and the knife cut pages. The final price is positioned to reward the collector for the documented cultural history contained within the book's pages.

 

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

 

This is an 1890s hardcover printing that exhibits extreme and verifiable damage consistent with heavy use as a school reference volume.

  • Positive Qualities:

    • The dark brown cloth boards are intact, and the blind-stamped monogram is present.

    • The unique anti-theft rhyme and owner inscriptions are clearly legible.

    • The full text is complete, despite the defects.

  • Imperfections:

    • Heavy ink spillage is visible on numerous pages (e.g., pages 422-423).

    • The book contains deep knife cuts into the edges of the pages, creating a structural defect.

    • The original spine covering is heavily worn and torn, with the binding exposed.

    • The pages are uniformly age-toned and brittle, consistent with its 19th-century paper stock.

 

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

 

  • The book is an abridgment of the work produced by G. & C. Merriam, a company founded by the Merriam brothers who acquired the rights to Noah Webster's dictionary after his death.

  • The inscription "Florence L Jones, Sept. 8 1891" is a specific, verifiable date and name, making the book a direct link to a late 19th-century American student or reader.

  • The long-form inscription, "Steal not this book, you little Paddy, for if you do, ill tell your daddy," is a version of a popular historical book anti-theft rhyme, often found in schoolbooks of the 19th century.

  • The title page lists "Illustrated with more than Three Hundred and Fifty Engravings on Wood," highlighting the importance of wood-engraving as a primary form of mass illustration during the 1800s.

 

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

 

  • Title: Webster’s International Dictionary: Academic Edition

  • Author/Editor: Noah Webster, LL. D. (Original Foundation), Edited by Noah Porter, LL.D., et al.

  • Year of Publication: 1890s Printing (Original Copyright 1867)

  • Publisher: American Book Company and G. & C. Merriam & Co.

  • Place of Origin: New York, Cincinnati, Chicago, Springfield, Mass.

  • Format/Binding: Hardcover, Cloth Boards (Spine Damaged)

  • Edition: Later 19th-Century Printing of the Academic Edition

  • Rarity: Common Edition, Unique Personal History and Social Ephemera

  • Verbatim Transcription of Inscription/Marking:

    • Title Page/Flyleaf: "Florence L Jones. Sept. 8 1891".

    • Title Page/Flyleaf: "55, 91 / 64".

    • Title Page/Flyleaf: "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Washington 2 3 4 0 …".

    • Back Endpaper Rhyme: "Steal not this book, you little Paddy, for if you do, ill tell your daddy".

    • Back Endpaper Name: "Florence L Jones".

1 of 1