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intro [ 6 September 2009 18:07 BST] pftaylorintro [29 May 2016 11:32 BST] (current) pftaylor
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 In 1826 or shortly after, the Caxton Edition appeared.  It has a page of Addenda dated October 1826 and a portrait of John Walker, the first British edition to do so, (though I have an American edition dated 1813 with a portrait based on the Barry miniature, and one of 1823 with a portrait of very  questionable artistic merit). Various printings of this edition by various publishers followed, with only the date on the portrait giving any guide as to when, 1860 being the latest that I am aware of.  In 1828 Rev John Davis published his edition in Belfast, the first edition to attempt to separate the words beginning with I and J, and U and V.  This was not the first edition published in Ireland, Wogan having published in Dublin in 1794, 1798 and 1806, but these are often referred to as pirate editions.  John Walker was well on the way to becoming a worldwide publishing success, but precisely how this was achieved is not so clear. In 1826 or shortly after, the Caxton Edition appeared.  It has a page of Addenda dated October 1826 and a portrait of John Walker, the first British edition to do so, (though I have an American edition dated 1813 with a portrait based on the Barry miniature, and one of 1823 with a portrait of very  questionable artistic merit). Various printings of this edition by various publishers followed, with only the date on the portrait giving any guide as to when, 1860 being the latest that I am aware of.  In 1828 Rev John Davis published his edition in Belfast, the first edition to attempt to separate the words beginning with I and J, and U and V.  This was not the first edition published in Ireland, Wogan having published in Dublin in 1794, 1798 and 1806, but these are often referred to as pirate editions.  John Walker was well on the way to becoming a worldwide publishing success, but precisely how this was achieved is not so clear.
   
-The first American edition was published in 1803. In 1806 there were editions in London, Dublin and Philadelphia, while the following year there was one in Paris, apparently in French.  From 1809 to 1870 there was almost certainly not a year without at least one printing, most with more, and sixteen being the maximum noted so far.  For only one year, 1812, do I have none listed, but since the 9th and 10th stereotypes were published in 1811 and the 12th and 13th in 1813 I would be surprised if an 11th does not eventually surface for 1812.  In many years the American printings outnumbered the British ones, and scattered amongst the listings are printings in Germany, Sweden and Canada.  Copies from these various countries travelled even further afield, with London printings certainly being exported to Australia by the firm of Tegg.+The first American edition was published in 1803. In 1806 there were editions in London, Dublin and Philadelphia, while the following year there was one in Paris, apparently in French.  From 1806 to 1877 there was no year without at least one printing, most with more, and eighteen being the maximum noted so far.  In many years the American printings outnumbered the British ones, and scattered amongst the listings are printings in Germany, Sweden and Canada.  Copies from these various countries travelled even further afield, with London printings certainly being exported to Australia by the firm of Tegg.
  
 One reason for the apparent decline in printings after 1870 is that many publishers stopped dating their books in the second half of the 19th century.  Undoubtedly there was a slow but steady decline during the last quarter of the 19th century, but the last printing I am aware of was post 1910, albeit remaindered stock with a new title page bound in, and Walker’s Dictionary was still being advertised as available on the end-papers of other dictionaries, particularly Nuttall’s, into the 1920s.  I have, incidentally, used ‘printings’ deliberately since there were, in Britain at any rate, around a dozen actual editions, with publishers reprinting them year after year until the plates wore out, and on at least one occasion, Nuttall’s 1867 printing, making new plates in order to continue.  So a reference, under the word ‘Chamber’, to ‘30 years ago’ appears in two copies of the same edition printed 45 years apart, and merely repeats what the 1st edition of 40 years earlier had said. One reason for the apparent decline in printings after 1870 is that many publishers stopped dating their books in the second half of the 19th century.  Undoubtedly there was a slow but steady decline during the last quarter of the 19th century, but the last printing I am aware of was post 1910, albeit remaindered stock with a new title page bound in, and Walker’s Dictionary was still being advertised as available on the end-papers of other dictionaries, particularly Nuttall’s, into the 1920s.  I have, incidentally, used ‘printings’ deliberately since there were, in Britain at any rate, around a dozen actual editions, with publishers reprinting them year after year until the plates wore out, and on at least one occasion, Nuttall’s 1867 printing, making new plates in order to continue.  So a reference, under the word ‘Chamber’, to ‘30 years ago’ appears in two copies of the same edition printed 45 years apart, and merely repeats what the 1st edition of 40 years earlier had said.
  
-When I first came across Walker’s Dictionary it was not at all clear how many editions/printings there had been, or how they related to each other.  I cannot claim to have greatly clarified the latter point, but for the former there follows a list compiled from a variety of sources. Firstly there are private collections, including my own.  Secondly there are other bibliographies, chiefly Robin Alston’s, and thirdly there are the copies offered for sale by dealers, which can reasonably be assumed to exist.  In the case of eBay items there are frequently photos of title pages, and Google Books also has a number of copies which have been scanned.  There are still gaps and queries for a variety of reasons, and I anticipate continuing to add to this list. Robin Alston’s list, though I hesitate to criticise such a pioneer, was incomplete, in that it didn’t include copies I had, and he himself subsequently added to it.  Nor, after the first three editions, is there any information about the publishers.  So, for example, the entry saying ‘London 1828’ could refer to one of three or even four printings.  Nevertheless, I have taken the liberty of assigning his date and place to a specific printing where it seemed reasonable to do so.  The fact that the Caxton editions from the start, and many other publishers latterly, were not dated has already been mentioned.  I am also amazed, as well as not helped, by the booksellers who give incomplete, or even totally inadequate, information about the copies they are trying to sell.+When I first came across Walker’s Dictionary it was not at all clear how many editions/printings there had been, or how they related to each other.  I cannot claim to have greatly clarified the latter point, but for the former there follows a list compiled from a variety of sources. Firstly there are library and private collections, including my own.  Secondly there are other bibliographies, chiefly Robin Alston’s, and thirdly there are the copies offered for sale by dealers, which can reasonably be assumed to exist.  In the case of eBay items there are frequently photos of title pages, and Google Books also has a number of copies which have been scanned.  There are still gaps and queries for a variety of reasons, and I anticipate continuing to add to this list. Robin Alston’s list, though I hesitate to criticise such a pioneer, was incomplete, in that it didn’t include copies I had, and he himself subsequently added to it.  Nor, after the first three editions, is there any information about the publishers.  So, for example, the entry saying ‘London 1828’ could refer to one of three or even four printings.  Nevertheless, I have taken the liberty of assigning his date and place to a specific printing where it seemed reasonable to do so.  The fact that the Caxton editions from the start, and many other publishers latterly, were not dated has already been mentioned.  I am also amazed, as well as not helped, by the booksellers who give incomplete, or even totally inadequate, information about the copies they are trying to sell.
  
 Finally I should mention the amount of trading on Walker’s name that happened.  This ranged from simple claims of superiority such as ‘based on the labours of’ followed by the names of about half-a-dozen lexicographers, including Walker, through more specific claims to contain ‘30000 more words than Walker’ to the almost derogatory notices in Webster’s Pronouncing Dictionary: ‘Johnson and Walker Superseded….The old system of Pronunciation by mis-spelling words has become obsolete….The extraordinary success…..of Webster’s Pocket Pronouncing Dictionary….in the face of a most obstinate and inveterate opposition on the part of the proprietors of the out-of-date and worthless compilations, so called Dictionaries, printed from old stereotype plates, which have remained unaltered for years.’  This last comes from a flyleaf advert in an 1859 edition of Webster which was still being printed, unchanged, at the end of the century.  But the most blatant example I have seen concerns an 1850 edition of, according to the title page, Walker’s Dictionary.  It is, in fact, a reprint, using apparently the same plates, of Enfield’s Dictionary, first published in 1807. Finally I should mention the amount of trading on Walker’s name that happened.  This ranged from simple claims of superiority such as ‘based on the labours of’ followed by the names of about half-a-dozen lexicographers, including Walker, through more specific claims to contain ‘30000 more words than Walker’ to the almost derogatory notices in Webster’s Pronouncing Dictionary: ‘Johnson and Walker Superseded….The old system of Pronunciation by mis-spelling words has become obsolete….The extraordinary success…..of Webster’s Pocket Pronouncing Dictionary….in the face of a most obstinate and inveterate opposition on the part of the proprietors of the out-of-date and worthless compilations, so called Dictionaries, printed from old stereotype plates, which have remained unaltered for years.’  This last comes from a flyleaf advert in an 1859 edition of Webster which was still being printed, unchanged, at the end of the century.  But the most blatant example I have seen concerns an 1850 edition of, according to the title page, Walker’s Dictionary.  It is, in fact, a reprint, using apparently the same plates, of Enfield’s Dictionary, first published in 1807.
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   * **B**:    British Library Collection   * **B**:    British Library Collection
   * **C**:    Cordell Collection   * **C**:    Cordell Collection
 +  * **Ci**:   Cincinnati Public Library
   * **Co**:  COPAC, the merged on-line catalogues of  24 major universities, plus British Library, National Library of Scotland and National Library of Wales.   * **Co**:  COPAC, the merged on-line catalogues of  24 major universities, plus British Library, National Library of Scotland and National Library of Wales.
   * **E**:   English Catalogue of Books, Sampson Low and others, London, 1864, 1873, 1882, 1889,  Vols I to IV, and Kraus Reprint Corporation, New York, 1963, Preliminary Volume   * **E**:   English Catalogue of Books, Sampson Low and others, London, 1864, 1873, 1882, 1889,  Vols I to IV, and Kraus Reprint Corporation, New York, 1963, Preliminary Volume
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   * **L**:     Leeds Public Library   * **L**:     Leeds Public Library
   * **M**:    Collection of Peter Meredith   * **M**:    Collection of Peter Meredith
 +  * **N**:    National Library of Australia
   * **O**:     Morgan Bibliography of Ohio Imprints 1796-1850   * **O**:     Morgan Bibliography of Ohio Imprints 1796-1850
   * **OC**:   OCLC World Catalog   * **OC**:   OCLC World Catalog
intro.1252256864.txt.gz · Last modified: 6 September 2009 18:07 BST by pftaylor
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