The new world of English words; or a general English dictionary: containing the interpretations of such hard words as are derived from other languages…Collected and published by E. P.

London: printed by E. Tyler, for Nath. Brooke at the sign of the Angel in Cornhill, 1658. First edition of the first English dictionary in folio format, compiled by Milton's nephew; pp. [360]; lexicon in double column; engraved frontispiece; contemporary full calf, neatly rebacked, gilt-decorated spine in 6 compartments, red morocco label in 1; some wear to the covers, last leaf of lexicon loose, but present; the binding is sound and the text block clean. Includes the errata and 7 pages of Nathaniel Brooke advertisements, but without the blank leaf 2R6 at the back. Early ownership signature of David Stiles on the front pastedown. "Two years after Blount's (truncated) Glossographia, in 1658, Edward Phillips' The New World of English Words appeared in the first folio edition of any English dictionary. Although Phillips, who was Milton's nephew, gave no credit to Blount and even publicly disparaged him, his dictionary is a close copy of Blount's, with a number of encyclopedic entries added. Blount, enraged, published A World of Errors Discovered in the New World of Words (1673), in which he attacked Phillips and catalogued numerous mistakes. However, in spite of the unscrupulous character of the work, The New World of English Words did initiate several ideas. Phillips included a long list of prominent specialists and gave the impression that they had contributed to or approved certain definitions, a claim that Blount disputed. Nonetheless, the idea of enlisting the support of specialists was a new one in English lexicography" (see Landau, p.43). Five editions were published in Phillip's lifetime; Kersey's revision of it appeared in 1706 and 1720. The first edition is uncommon in commerce. Alston V, 53; Wing P2068; Graesse V, 268; see also Starnes & Noyes, The English Dictionary from Cawdrey to Johnson, pp. 48-63. (Inventory #: 64442)