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Collection Overview
Scope and Contents of the Materials
This collection consists of nearly 100 pages, in Noah Webster's hand, that are part of the introduction to his dictionary published in 1828 as An American Dictionary of the English Language. The pages have been edited heavily and blocks of text have been pasted over sections showing Webster's thought process as he wrote and rewrote the introduction.
Biographical Note
Noah Webster, Jr. (October 16, 1758 - May 28, 1843) was an American lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English-language spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and prolific author. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education". His blue-backed speller books taught five generations of American children how to spell and read, secularizing their education. Webster's name has become synonymous with "dictionary" in the United States, especially the modern Merriam-Webster dictionary that was first published in 1828 as An American Dictionary of the English Language.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Eastern Kentucky University - Special Collections and Archives
Acquisition Source:
Mrs. Sue Wadsworth
Acquisition Method:
gift
Related Materials:
This link points to the published version of the manuscript dictionary at the page corresponding with the first page of the manuscript. For more information please see https://archive.org/stream/americandictiona01websrich#page/35/mode/1up.
Box and Folder Listing
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Folder 1: Noah Webster Manuscript Dictionary, ca 1828],
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- Folder 1: Noah Webster Manuscript Dictionary, ca 1828
- This docucument consists of pages 219 through 312 of a manuscript version of An American Dictionary of the English Language, V1, 1828. These pages cover the introduction and show how he edited the manuscript before publication with slips of paper cut and pasted over words and entire sections crossed out. It appears to be a final version of the printed dictionary. This volume has been digitized by Hathi Trust and the printed pages that correlate with this manuscript begin here with the paragraph "There are other points in grammar equally faulty," and end on this page at the end of the paragraph "I know of no other work in any language...".
