Chronicle
Available: 07/08/09
7.25 x 5.75 · 512 pages
978-0-8118-6718-4
CDN $39.00 · cl

Buy the Book
Amazon.ca
Chapters.Indigo.ca
Independent Retailers

print

Pictorial Webster’s

A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities

John M. Carrera

Featuring over 1,500 engravings that originally graced the pages of Webster’s dictionaries in the 19th century, this chunky volume is an irresistible treasure trove for art lovers, designers, and anyone with an interest in visual history. Meticulously cleaned and restored by fine-press bookmaker John M. Carrera, the engravings in Pictorial Webster’s have been compiled into an alluring and unusual visual reference guide for the modern day. Images range from the entirely mysterious to the classically iconic. From Acorns to Zebras, Bell Jars to Velocipedes, these alphabetically arranged archetypes and curiosities create enigmatic juxtapositions and illustrate the items deemed important to the Victorian mind. Sure to inspire and delight, Pictorial Webster’s is at once a fascinating historical record and a stunning jewel of a book.

John Carrera is a printer, bookbinder, artist, and maker of fine-press books. He is the founder and proprietor of Quercus Press letterpress and bindery. He has taught and lectured extensively in the areas of book arts. His work is held in the special collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Yale University, Boston Athenaeum, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the Smithsonian Institution Library, Stanford University, and many others. He is a member of the Letterpress Guild of New England and the Society of Printers. He lives in Waltham, Massachusetts.