[Webster, Noah]: Merriam, George and Charles:

$900 · Offered by William Reese Company

WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY [caption title. With:] [MANUSCRIPT LETTER, SIGNED "G. + C. MERRIAM," TO PRESIDENT ELIPHALET NOTT OF UNION COLLEGE, SOLICITING HIS ENDORSEMENT FOR A FORTHCOMING PROMOTIONAL ... A unique promotional flyer for the first posthumous edition of Noah Webster's famous dictionary, accompanied by a letter from the publishers to Dr. Eliphalet Nott, president of Union College. Webster's American Dictionary, first printed in 1828, was something of a commercial failure. While the second edition of 1840 was much more successful, Webster didn't have long to enjoy the fruits of his labors; shortly after his death in 1843, publishers George and Charles Merriam purchased the rights, and the first Merriam-Webster Dictionary was issued in late 1847.This document, mailed to notable politicians and scholars early the next year, is proof of the publishers' promotional efforts, providing a detailed description of the new edition along with a convenient integral blank for a personalized message. The text celebrates the efforts of the dictionary's departed author. Charles A. Goodrich, the editor of the new edition, extols the virtues of Webster's etymologies, definitions, vocabulary, and pronunciation guides within, while admitting that "In Orthography, the changes proposed by Dr. Webster which have not been sanctioned by general adoption, and which seem to be too violent departures from the general spelling, have been judiciously omitted." He closes by declaring, "It is with pleas

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