Webster, backed by advertising money from the Merriams (the very successful publishers of editions of the Bible), was a brash man whose dictionaries were somewhat inferior to those of Worcester; but Webster prevailed. The dictionaries of Worcester, more scholarly and written by a more genteel man, were less well funded and slowly faded from prominence.
Another Websterian book is the Salesman's Manual for Use in the Sale of Webster's New International Dictionary with Reference History of the World, an octavo manual written by E. H. Norton, Manager of the Subscription Department, and published by G. & C. Merriam in 1916. Each of the manuals was numbered and (one can assume) logged. Each copy was supposed to have been returned when a salesman no longer had ties with the company. There are thorough chapters on selling techniques to be used, elaborating methods of persuasion and calling attention to notable features of the book to be stressed when trying to win over to a potential buyer. Facing page 1 is a photograph of "A Group of New International Dictionary Salesmen" at a dinner together.
Le Dictionnaire des Halles is a vellum-bound 12mo. written by a man named Artaud in "Bruxelles" [i.e., Paris] in 1696. It attempts to debunk the reputation of the French Academy's dictionary for purity, refinement, and high-mindedness by collecting homely folk proverbs excerpted from the celebrated work which are decidedly not pure and genteel. Examples are: "On dit d'un homme extrèmmement glorieux, qu'il est glorieux comme un pet" and "Cette homme a chié dans ma malle: pour dire, il a fait á moy, je ne me fieray plus á luy." As Artaud's preface points out, the French Academy fails to exclude indelicate language: both proverbs are cited in the Academy's work twice, each in two separate entries.
Another European work is a 1779 late edition, in 8vo., of a well-known book written in the idiom of Spanish thieves and containing a dictionary of their language. It is Romances de Germanía ...con el Vocabulario, which first appeared in 1609. The author's popular name, Juan Hidalgo, is the pseudonym of one Cristóbal de Chaves.
Another European production on thieves' language is the Viennese Wörterbuch der Diebs- , Gauner- , oder Kochmersprache.... Appearing in 1854, this slender quarto was from a division of their police department, the Central-Evidenz-Bureau.
An American book, by George W. Matsell, the first municipal chief of police of New York City, written to familiarize his men with criminal slang, is the Vocabulum; or, the Rogue's Lexicon, which appeared in 12mo. in 1859. Among the few copies in this collection are two signed by Matsell, one of them presented to General Abram Duryee, who became police commissioner in 1875.
Last in this brief survey are two very different books. The first, Sling Lingo, written by Elizabeth Woodward and undated is a colorful, charming rendition of the language we would today call that of teenage girls. Then, these girls were called "sub-debs," and this is their lingo, ca. 1940s. The book is an illustrated quarto published by the Ladies Home Journal--in hopes that the sub-debs would buy sub-deb clothing from department stores.
A much less frivolous work ends the list. It is a 1758 12mo. entitled Table Alphabetique des Dictionnaires. The author's name does not appear on the title page, but the book was written by the distinguished and celebrated French bibliographer Jacques Bernard Durey de Noinville. It is the earliest printed bibliography of dictionaries known to me. The author's lovely heraldic bookplate is affixed to the front pastedown, and the half-title bears his presentation to Canon John Belin "Ex dono authoris."Madeline Kripke Greenwich Village
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
