THE CENTURY DICTIONARY. First Edition. Folios. Leather set. Complete in 12 volumes. [ Webster's ] by [DICTIONARY.] [Whitney, William Dwight (Editor.)] - 1889 - 1891

New York: The Century Company, 1889 - 1891. FIRST EDITION / FIRST PRINTING. Complete 6 titles, bound into 12 volumes. THE CENTURY DICTIONARY. An encyclopedic lexicon of the English language. Printed in 1889 - 1891. Bound in thick quality leather bindings. Gilded spines. Raised hubs. Marbled edges and end papers. 13.25 inches tall. Folio-Sized. 17 inches of shelf space. In text illustrations. Printed on thick quality paper. Columned text. These weigh approximately 6 pounds each, unpacked. In VERY GOOD condition. Very fresh and supple leather bindings. Printed on quality paper that is fresh bright and clean. Appears free of foxing. No writing. Some general wear and abrasion. Some stains, predominantly at base of spines, as shown. This is a very large and impressive collection. Extra reinforced internal hinges, by the publisher. Early name placed inconspicuously on verso of front end paper. This is an impressive collection. This is the first edition of the dictionary, with approximately 6000 wood-engraved illustrations. Twenty-four separate parts, comprising the six volumes, Preface by the editor; exhaustive definitions for over 200,000 words, adapted especially for American needs, including word etymologies, homonyms, pronunciation guidelines, discussions of selected synonyms, numerous extracts and quotations, definitions of technical terms, etc.; and list of sources. The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia was one of the largest encyclopedic dictionaries of the English language. The first edition was published from 1889 to 1891 by The Century Company of New York, in six, eight, or ten volume versions (originally issued in 24 fascicles) in 7,046 pages with some 10,000 wood-engraved illustrations. It was edited by Sanskrit scholar and linguist William Dwight Whitney, with Benjamin Eli Smith's assistance. It was a great expansion of the smaller Imperial Dictionary, which in turn had been based on the 1841 edition of Noah Webster's American Dictionary. The Century Dictionary was admired for the quality of its entries, the craftsmanship in its design, typography, and binding, and its excellent illustrations. It has been used as an information source for the makers of many later dictionaries, including editors of the Oxford English Dictionary, who cited it over 2,000 times in the first edition. In 1913, Stewart Archer Steger from the University of Virginia published his Ph.D. dissertation "American Dictionaries" and devoted a 14-page Chapter VI on Century Dictionary. He concluded the chapter with these words: "Altogether, The Century Dictionary far surpasses anything in American lexicography." This set would make an excellent gift and/or addition to any fine library. In addition to their shelf presence, antiquarian books make an excellent investment. We always pack very securely to help ensure safe handling during transit. All books are individually wrapped and are always professionally padded. We offer a full refund guarantee, per our terms described on our site, with notification of such intent requested. Please contact us with any inquiries.