Webster, Noah. A Dictionary for Primary Schools. New-York: F. J. Huntington and Co., 1841. [9506]
Full sheep, light scuffing and edge-wear, joints fine, tight, 5 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches. Lacks the front free end papers (blanks), with one of two present at end. 341 (2) pp., foxing. Printed in triple columns. Good. Full leather.
Skeel 641. This copy has the variant of the advertising on the verso of p. 341 and the recto of the next leaf, its verso being blank. See Skeel 639.
"Primary Schools" as used now means grades 1 to 3, but that is not the age intended by the author. We are uncertain of what the notion of a primary school was in 1833, when this dictionary was first published, but the instructions to the reader are for older children or adults. A sample will suffice: "The orthography of a few words, the etymology of which has been mistaken, as furlow, chimist, molasses, mold, cigar, redoubt, redoutable, controller, and a few others, has been corrected. The usual orthography is palpably erroneous." - p. iv.
Noah Webster (1748-1843), American lexicographer & educator. Best known today for his Dictionary, Webster was an ardent supporter of the American Revolution and of the beginnings of Federalism in the new United States. He saw education as a means for uniting the new nation, and was a tireless promoter of his new spelling & educational endeavors. He eventually became disillusioned with the development of the party system of politics and concentrated his efforts in the realm of education.
