A Dictionary of the English Language: in which the WORDS are Deduced from their ORIGINALS, Explained in their DIFFERENT MEANINGS, and Authorized by the NAMES of the WRITERS in whose Works they are Found (2 vols) by Samuel Johnson - 1773

London: Strahan, Rivington et al, 1773. 5th or later Edition . Cloth Bound. Good/No Jacket. 21 x 14 Cms (8.5" x 5.5"). THE BOOK: First published on 15 April 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, sometimes published as Johnson's Dictionary, is among the most influential works in the history of the English language. There was dissatisfaction with the dictionaries of the period, so in June 1746 a group of London booksellers contracted Johnson to write a dictionary for the sum of 1,500 guineas (£1,575), equivalent to about £220,000 in 2015. Johnson took nearly nine years to complete the work, although he had claimed he could finish it in three. Remarkably, he did so single-handedly, with only clerical assistance to copy out the illustrative quotations that he had marked in books. Johnson produced several revised editions during his life. Until the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary 173 years later, Johnson's was viewed as the pre-eminent English dictionary. According to Walter Jackson Bate, the Dictionary "easily ranks as one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship, and probably the greatest ever performed by one individual who labored under anything like the disadvantages in a comparable length of time". (Source: Wikipedia). PUBLISHING DETAILS: The fifth edition, abstracted from the folio edition by the author and published in 2 volumes by Strahan, Rivington et al of London in 1773. Unpaginated. Size: 21 x 14 cms (8.5" x 5.5"). Weight: 1.56 kg (3.4 pounds). CONDITION: I would rate these volumes as good, commensurate with their age. The books have been rebound in tan cloth at some time in the past, with red and black spine labels. The covers are worn but sound and the shine has been taken off some of the surface (see photos) but they still look reasonable for their age. The bindings are reasonable tight (with the binding thread and strengthening tape visible at the endpapers) though there is some cracking at the title page of volume 2. The text is clean and bright overall, with some age toning at places (see photos). All in all, this is a very presentable early set of the immortal lexicographer.