WEBSTER, NOAH. 1758-1843.
An American Dictionary of the English Language. New York: S. Converse, 1828.
2 volumes. 4to (276 x 223 mm). Triple column. Engraved frontispiece portrait by A.H. Durand after S.F. Morse. Modern full calf gilt, black morocco spine labels. Frontispiece foxed, some old staining at end of vol 1.
FIRST EDITION OF WEBSTER'S QUARTO UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY. "Webster was an ardent nationalist and he wanted to stress the political separation from Britain by the cultivation of a separate American language. Under the influence of his friend Benjamin Franklin he turned his attention to 'a reformed mode of spelling'; and although he rejected the radical phonetic innovations proposed by Franklin, he went far enough to give many printed American words a distinctive appearance" (Printing and the Mind of Man 291); Sabin 102335.