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Original Manuscript Leaf From Noah Webster's Dictionary

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:4,000.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
Original Manuscript Leaf From Noah Webster's Dictionary
<Our item number 136854><B>Webster, Noah.</B> &#40;1758-1843&#41; American lexicographer and author. In 1783 he wrote <I>Grammatical Institute of the English Language, Part I</I>, a spelling book that became known as <I>Webster&#39;s Spelling Book</I> or <I>Blue-Backed Speller</I>, which taught American children how to read, spell, and pronounce words and had tremendous sales for over 100 years. In 1828 he published his two-volume <I>An American Dictionary of the English Language</I>; after his death in 1843, his heirs sold the rights to his dictionary to G. & C. Merriam, and it was renamed <I>The Merriam Webster Dictionary</I>.<BR><BR>Autograph manuscript, 1p, oblong, 4½ x 7¾ in., n.p., n.d &#40;before 1828&#41;. Being a leaf of the manuscript of Webster&#39;s <I>An American Dictionary</I>. The sheet contains Webster&#39;s definitions of the word &#34;behind,&#34; for which he distinguishes six different meanings; he adds to these the phrase &#34;behind the back,&#34; as used in scripture. A no te on the verso reads: &#34;A scrip of the manuscript of the first Dictionary / My Father&#39;s writing / Mrs. E.S. Webster Jones aged 82.&#34; On another sheet, of later date, to which the Webster fragment is neatly tipped, is a note in an unidentified hand: &#34;…a portion of the copy of the <U>first dictionary</U>--authenticated by his daughter Mrs. Elizabeth Jones… obtained Oct. 7 1886.&#34; Fine.<BR><BR>Leaves from the manuscript of Webster&#39;s <I>An American Dictionary of the English Language</I> &#40;New Haven, 1828&#41; are rare on the market; the bulk of the manuscript &#40;some 450 pages&#41; is in The Pierpont Morgan Library. Another leaf of the manuscript which was recently on the market bore a similar inscription from Webster&#39;s daughter. It is possible that the very few pages detached from the Morgan manuscript were extracted by Webster&#39;s daughter to give to collectors who had requested a sample of the lexicographer&#39;s handwriting. See H. Cahoon, T.V. Lange an d C. Ryskamp, <I>American Literary Autographs</I>, n.1 and p.208. <BR>Estimated Value &#36;8,000 - 10,000. <BR><BR>Our item number 136854<BR><IMAGES><P ALIGN="CENTER"><IMG SRC="http://www.goldbergcoins.net/liveauction/49jpegs/136854.jpg"> </P></IMAGES>