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Antique First Indigenous-American Dictionary 1643 - 1936
Antique First Indigenous-American Dictionary 1643 - 1936
Antique First Indigenous-American Dictionary 1643 - 1936
Antique First Indigenous-American Dictionary 1643 - 1936
Antique First Indigenous-American Dictionary 1643 - 1936
Antique First Indigenous-American Dictionary 1643 - 1936
Antique First Indigenous-American Dictionary 1643 - 1936
Antique First Indigenous-American Dictionary 1643 - 1936
Antique First Indigenous-American Dictionary 1643 - 1936
Antique First Indigenous-American Dictionary 1643 - 1936
Antique First Indigenous-American Dictionary 1643 - 1936

Antique First Indigenous-American Dictionary 1643 - 1936

$ 14.12

Availability: 92 in stock
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
  • Condition: Acceptable - cover has been through the wars, inside is fine, but see description. The very first attempt to catalog the language of the Indian Nations of the New England area of the US. in 1643.
  • Modified Item: No
  • Provenance: Collection of linguistics teacher
  • Handmade: No

    Description

    A KEY INTO THE LANGUAGE OF AMERICA by Roger Williams of Providence in New England 1643, reprinted at Providence for the Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Tercentenary Committee, Inc 1936. With an Introduction by Howard M. Chapin.
    A fascinating look at the attempts to codify and set down the languages spoken by the indigenous peoples around Providence and with observations on their customs habits and culture.  The original publication in 1643 was followed by three more editions in the 17th-19th centuries, and after 120+ years, this fifth edition was printed in 1936.
    CONDITION:  The condition is a bit strange and I don't quite know how to characterize it.  The cover is no doubt dirty and with edge damage, and the original cellophane wrapper is sticking to it in places. I have left it for originality's sake.  Inside the book is fine, BUT every page is 'crinkled' as if water damaged. I think this is by design, to make the antique reprint look authentically like old parchment paper.  Every page is crinkled in exactly the same pattern, and there is even a faintly visible framing like a lithograph print would have. See the photos, which should tell the story. There is no evidence of actual water damage, no smell or foxing etc. Make your own conclusion here.  I was not able to find another copy online to check it with.
    A wonderful addition to the library of anyone interested in indigenous studies; it is a window into how the settlers of early America saw the original inhabitants of the land. Roger Williams is a careful and dispassionate observer in the main, but of course, a man of his times, and  we would hardly write some of what he has here. The book is vanishingly rare in this 'original' reprint which brought the book back after more than a century.