I guess of all the books I've ever come across, my favorite would have to be Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition. I think it was first published in 1934 and revised into a Third Edition in 1961. The copy I have is gift inscribed 1948, but I'm not sure when it was printed. A bookbinder reinforced the hinges at the front and back and removed the dated pages in the process. But it's an older copy because it has the word "dord" in it. More on that in a moment.

The book is big. 6 inches across at the spine, about 24" across when laid out on a tabletop. And it weighs 10 pounds. So I rarely use my copy.

But then, last week, I found something I'd never seen before--a cart that must have been designed for the book. Looks like a library or classroom item, and it fits the book exactly. Now I'll be able to leave the book out and accessible. My favorite book.

Pictures below, then a link to an article about "dord." My copy has the word, so it was printed in the thirties or early forties.











https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dord

I just wanted you folks to see the cart, because I never knew they existed. You might want to watch for one if you have the Webster's Second Edition.

I see "The entry "dord" was not removed until 1947.[5]"

That 1947 version is the edition of Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary Unabridged that I have, and I can confirm it has no dord.

That is way cool.

It's remarkable that a paper dictionary is almost an antiquarian item now. I used to urge my daughter to get a dictionary or let me buy her one. She claimed never to need one. She had a perfect score on her SAT verbal, so I couldn't really say she'd suffered from lack of the tome. I more often look up words online myself. Still, there's something about knowing the whole language is contained in a physical object that will make dictionaries hang on, probably. Not long ago I picked up a big Harper Collins Robert unabridged French dictionary in a thrift for $7.

Very nice. We have several dictionaries including a medical one, but nothing that old.

As dictionaries and "a happy find," howzabout we post new words we have to look up? Here's one I just found in a quote by John Anderson who just died.



Oh and even that comes from the gadarene swine of the New Testament.

What a happy find!

mor·ga·nat·ic
ˌmôrɡəˈnadik/Submit
adjective

of or denoting a marriage in which neither the spouse of lower rank nor any children have any claim to the possessions or title of the spouse of higher rank.

I came across morganaticyesterday while reading The Romanov Sisters.

Since I can now leave my Webster's out for easy access, I stop at it occasionally to look for new words. Yesterday I found "metoposcopy." The Wikipedia definition:

Metoposcopy is a form of divination in which the diviner predicts personality, character, and destiny, based on the pattern of lines on the subject's forehead. It was in use in the Classical era, and was widespread in the Middle Ages, reaching its zenith in the 16th and 17th centuries.





I guess the "science" was a cousin to phrenology, which I've heard of. Never heard of metoposcopy.

Finding the cart for the Webster's has made me want to get my Oxford English Dictionary uncrated and on the shelf, so I'm looking for a bookshelf that will support it. 20 volumes, about 45 inches of shelf space needed, I think 150 pounds. I was surprised to see the thing's gone out of print, bested by the digitizers.

R.I.P the OED: As the world's greatest dictionary goes out of print, why it spells disaster for everyone who loves words

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... words.html

Interesting! I'm getting jealous of your dictionary/stand - I want a set just like it!

I have a book called Amazing Face Reading by Mac Fulfer, and in the book he describes what different line patterns on the forehead indicate about personality traits. I wonder if he has a similar dictionary with pictures as yours and happened upon the word "metoscopia" one day?!

I happened to find a free PDF of the book at the link below:

https://archive.org/details/amazingfacereadi00macf

As if I need the disaster spelled out for me. If I don't have an O.E.D. I'll never be everything I want to be.

Oops. I closed the wordpress account that was hosting the pictures in the initial post. Here's the dictionary stand: