An American Dictionary of the English Language by Webster, Noah - 1848

Springfield, MA: George and Charles Merriam, 1848. First Merriam Webster Edition. Leather bound. 1367pp. Very thick quarto [27 cm] Brown leather with a black leather spine label. Marbled edges and endsheets. Good. The extremities are worn, with rubbing and a bit of mottling. There is a large loss from the leather at the foot of the spine. The frontispiece is offset on the surrounding pages. There are several previous owners' names/notations to the preliminary and terminal pages (some offset on the surrounding pages). There are stains in the centers of pp. 364-422. The largest and darkest stains are in the middle of this section, and measure 1 and 1/4 inches tall by 1 and 1/4 inches wide. The stains do not obscure the text. Occasional light staining, very small dark stains and foxing on the pages. There are sporadic light moisture stains in the corners and edges of the pages. The larger stains are 3 inches tall by 3 inches wide, and they become slightly darker on the last several pages. The book is sturdy. Noah Webster strongly believed in developing the cultural independence of the United States, a chief component of which was to be a distinctive American language with its own idiom, pronunciation, and style.