Creator
William Torrey Harris, ed
Title
Webster’s New International Dictionary
Coverage
Springfield
Publisher
G. & C. Merriam Co.
Date
1909
Description
While serving as superintendent of St. Louis schools in 1878, William Torrey Harris reviewed a Merriam-Webster dictionary. By 1900, he had moved to Massachusetts to bring Webster into the 20th century. Harris innovated the “divided page,” which relegated uncommon and obsolete words to the foot of the page in compact type, making it possible to treat many more terms. The divided page was hailed as a stroke of genius. It would last through Webster’s Second but not through Webster’s Third.
Source
Ex coll. Karolyne & Bryan A. Garner. HHD no. 93