1786 – Samuel Johnson – Dictionary of English Language | Enormous First Edition

A rare 18th-century printing of Samuel Johnson’s famous English Dictionary. This enormous 1786 first edition is unpaginated and features a section on grammar unique to the English language. While editions of this work were published for decades following this edition, this edition was the first folio edition to be published all in one volume rather than the more commonly available multivolume printings.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Dictionary of the English Language: In Which the Words are Deduced from Their Originals, and Illustrated in Their Different Significations
• Author(s): Samuel Johnson
• Publisher: London: Printed for Harrison and Co.
• Edition: First single-volume folio edition, 1786
• Binding: Leather
• Format: Folio (single volume)
• Size:  16.75in x 10.75in (42.5cm x 27.5cm)
• Collation: Unpaginated (~960 pages)
• Illustrations: portrait frontispiece
• Contents Include:
  • Preface on Language and Grammar
  • Alphabetical Dictionary Entries
  • Supplemental Grammar Section

Condition:

Good. Leather intact, text block tight and secure. Pages show mild age toning with no major defects or loss of text. Leather corners and edges show wear from use and age. Small separation of leather at upper front hinge.

Why Collect This?

• Enormous single-volume folio of Johnson’s landmark dictionary
• First edition in this size

Item Number: # 50230