Both inside and out, this I believe is the most beautiful speller I've had, and among the earliest too, published in 1813, with the lovely blue paper cover wrap dating to that year as well, monogrammed JG in ink on the exterior and signed Jacob Goodrich on the first end page. The speller itself is The American Spelling Book; Containing the Rudiments of the English Language for the Use of Schools in the United States, by Noah Webster ( (1758–1843; most famous for his dictionary, which came later), published by Hudson and Goodwin, Hartford. I've found this 1813 edition in the collection of the Morgan Library, NYC, but not another copy of this particular edition out there at the moment that I can find. (Copies from the first quarter of the 19th century in good condition seem mostly listed in the $300-$600 range.) In addition to pages upon pages of great words, it includes a series of fables, with introductory partial page engravings for each, as well as many pages of various sorts of listings, including popular girls and boys names of the era. A trove of information and a very lovely thing.
6 3/4" x 4 1/8". 168 pages. Some staining to the first couple of pages but otherwise in excellent condition. Binding in excellent shape, pages crisp and almost entirely free of marks. Cover wrap, tightly held, shows marks and stains, all to the good in my opinion, including a beautiful field of ink marks on the back cover. A bit of tearing to the cover wrap just at bottom edge of spine, pretty minor.
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