The American Language An Inquiry Into the Development of English in the United States / A New Dictionary of Quotations on Historical Principles from Ancient and Mdoern Sources
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1960-62. Fourth Edition, Corrected, Enlarged and Rewritten. Hardcovers with dust jackets in slipcase. 4to. Pp. xi, 769, xxix. Supplement One: xv, 739, xxxv. Supplement Two: xiii, 890, xliii; A New Dictionary, xiv, 1347. With sections on American slang, proper names in America, non-English dialects in America, the influence of Noah Webster, etc. Each volume with an index. Previous owner's bookplate to front pastedowns. Uniformly bound in black cloth with gilt lettering stamped on spine. in the dust jackets, price-clipped, that show slight rubbing and fading to spines. In the slipcase, which has been repaired with tape along edges and corners. Very Good+ / Good+. Item #11233
The now‐classic explorations of the evolution of English in the United States by the Sage of Baltimore. Mencken's life as a newspaperman kept his eye on the gutter, which he celebrated, thus moving journalism and all writing from lingering Victoriana to the realism of Sinclair Lewis, Dreiser, et al. A triumph of scholarly inquiry.
Price: $75.00