Bryce's Thumb English Dictionary

Glasgow, Scotland: David Bryce and Son, 1896. Fair. Text block separated from spine with split int between penultimate and final leaves.. An early edition of Bryce's thumb dictionary, first published in 1892. Containing 15,000 words in a single two-inch-tall volume, including "a large number of scientific, philosophical, literary, and technical terms" (title-page). Bryce would go on to publish two follow-up editions, the "Diamond" dictionary and "The World's Smallest Dictionary". Of interest in this edition is that is it printed vertically and foliated rather than paginated. Also interesting to see from a lexicography standpoint what was left out to make room for more words (e.g. phonetic symbols, which were still new but in use already from c.1888). Single vol. (2" by 1.75"), ff. 386, in original illus. brown cloth stamped in black, printed bookseller's ticket to front pastedown (Hayward of Croydon).