Samuel Johnson's 'A Dictionary of the English Language' was published on 15 April 1755. This month's blog post explores how Johnson's 'Dictionary' reduced in size over the decades and centuries. We take a look at miniature dictionaries in our collection, and find out how the publication history of Johnson's most famous work played a part in him becoming a household name.
The first edition
Johnson's extraordinary achievement began when he signed the contract for a dictionary project in June 1746, and he published his plan for the work a year later. Johnson's Dictionary was not the first, but he aimed for a work that would have more everyday application than the "pompous luxuriance" of his predecessors, and which would have more accurate definitions. Once words are chosen, they need to be interpreted: "a task", Johnson said, "of which the extent and intricacy is sufficiently shown by the miscarriage of those who have generally attempted it." Johnson wrote for readers and recognised the importance of examples of usage for his task, leading to the final two volume Dictionary containing 116,000 quotations.
When Johnson's Dictionary was published in 1755, 2000 copies of the large two-volume folio-sized book were produced at a cost of £4:10s, a highly priced item which would have been beyond the reach of many households. Treasured in the libraries of educational institutions and elite residences, it is estimated that around half of the first print run has survived.
Johnson's Dictionary - from the largest to the smallest in the Birthplace Collection
The first abridgements
The folio version of the Dictionary continued to be printed, with four volumes appearing within Johnson's lifetime (the fifth was published just days after Johnson died in 1784), but a cheaper alternative became available from 1756. The first abridged edition, abstracted from the folio by Johnson, appeared in 1756 and ran into eight editions before 1786. Priced at ten shillings, it was considerably cheaper and at least 40,000 copies were sold between those years, compared to 3,000-4,000 copies of the larger folio in the same period. By the end of the 18th century, Johnson's Dictionary would have been known as the authority in most literature households.
The Miniature Dictionaries.
Over 300 different types of pocket and miniature dictionaries were produced from 1784 through to around 1900. Johnson's name had become synonymous with the Dictionary and the appearance of novelty versions indicates that he had become a very familiar presence. Although they were often called 'Johnson', they cannot be considered as editions of Johnson's Dictionary in the sense that they include little of his original definitions and his selected examples of usage. Many have been 'improved' with the addition of historical facts, lists of market towns, pronunciations and other miscellaneous information, adding to their status as pocket curiosities and gift items. Almost all of them carry a portrait of Johnson in the front.
The smallest dictionary in the Museum collection measures just three centimetres tall. This very miniature Dictionary was produced in the 1890s and was sold with its own magnifying clip. You can see it on display in the 'Dictionary Room' at the Museum.
The most recent miniature edition to join our collection is a curious little 'Thumb Dictionary', donated to us in 2022, dating from around 1890-1900. An ink inscription shows that it was once owned by a child, who proudly wrote their name and class number at the front. Carrying a portrait and 'Johnson's Dictionary' in the title-page, this item for a school-child's pocket indicates the extent to which Johnson had become a household name by the twentieth century.
Selected further reading on Johnson's Dictionary: J.D Fleeman's 'A Bibliography of the Works of Samuel Johnson' (Oxford, 2000); Allen Reddick's 'The Making of Johnson's Dictionary 1746 – 1773' (Cambridge, 1990); James L Clifford 'Dictionary Johnson' (Heinemann, 1979).
No comments:
Post a Comment