English-Language Dictionaries, 1604-1900

This is a catalog of more than 2,300 pre-1900 English-language dictionary titles in the Warren N. and Suzanne B. Cordell Collection of Dictionaries at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. The most comprehensive collection of Western language dictionaries in the world, the Cordell Collection was begun in 1961 by the late Warren N. Cordell, a marketing research executive with a deep love for and appreciation of the study of words. From the beginning, however, old English-language dictionaries formed the core of the Cordell collection, and this catalog documents the comprehensive nature of these holdings. The collection aims at completeness, with every variant copy of interest included. The format of the entries consists of seven basic parts: main entry, title, publication statement, collation, notes, provenance, and references. A subject index is provided for those interested in dictionaries for particular topics.