2 volumes, folio (15 5/8 x 9 7/8 in.; 397 x 253 mm), titles printed in red and black; neatly mended tear in lower portion of first title touching imprint, first five leaves coming loose from text block, very light marginal spotting on a few leaves. Early 19th-century blind-tooled calf; rebacked in contemporary style, extremities worn.

Chapman & Hazen, p. 137; Grolier / English 50; PMM 201; Rothschild 1237; see W.B. Todd, "Variants in Johnson's Dictionary, 1755," The Book Collector, vol. 14, no. 2 (summer 1965), pp. 212-213

neatly mended tear in lower portion of title touching imprint, first five leaves coming loose from text block, very light marginal spotting on a few leaves. Early 19th-century blind-tooled calf; rebacked in contemporary style, extremities worn.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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First edition of Johnson's monumental work, with the text in Todd's (b) setting of sheets 19D and 24O.

The work took nine years to complete and has been praised as the first genuinely descriptive dictionary in any language. Noah Webster stated that Johnson's writings had, in philology, the effect which Newton's discoveries had in mathematics (quoted in PMM). He codified the spelling of English words, gave full definitions of all words and brought extensive exampl🔯es from a wide range of authors.

A handsome, clean copy.