Webster's Ever Ready Dictionary of the English Language Self-Promoting Based upon the original foundation laid by Noah Webster, LL.D. and Other Eminent Lexicographers
St. Louis: F.L. Rand Company, 1926. [2],246pp. Original red cloth stamped in black. Minor scuffing and edge wear to boards. Hinges a bit over-opened, but very clean internally. Very good. Item #2129
A handsome pocket dictionary from the early-20th century produced as a promotional item for a shoe store in rural Texas. The front cover reads, "Webster's Poll-Parrot Dictionary Made Expressly for Freitag & Kamas Kenney, Texas 'Star Brand Shoes and Better.'" Kenney is a tiny, unincorporated town located about halfway between Austin and Houston. The Freitag & Kamas shoe store would have used the present dictionary likely as a giveaway or prize for its younger customers. Interestingly, though the publishers of the dictionary use his name freely, and state that the present work was "based upon the original foundation laid by" Noah Webster, the title page states that "This Dictionary is not published by the original publishers of Webster's Dictionary, or by their successors." OCLC records just six copies of this dictionary, though with at least one "made expressly" for a different business.
Price: $125.00