Noah Webster
Webster writes to ascertain the addresses of Smith & Harrison as “they are named as publishers of the Elementary.” Webster refers here to The Elementary Spelling Book originally published in 1783 and revised throughout the early nineteenth century, outselling every book but the Bible. He also requests addresses for Morse & Harvey and Hoyt & Porter. Webster states that he ordered plates for correction, and adds a postscript asserting that he is about to “close all my concerns with bookselling as soon as practicable”; he directs the publishers to sell his bibles for $2 each, or less for the whole lot. Webster’s spellers and dictionaries helped give Americans a sense of national culture, distinct from Great Britain. Webster is best-known for his production of dictionaries, including A Compendious Dictionary of the American Language (1806), containing words of Native American derivation; and the comprehensive An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828).
This letter is available on the digital library project I Remain.