Creator
John Simpson & E.S.C. Weiner, eds.
Title
The Oxford English Dictionary. 20 vols.
Coverage
Oxford
Publisher
Clarendon Press
Date
1989
Subject
2d ed.
Description
Though little new research was involved in merging the OED with its Supplement, it’s hard to conceive the scale of the task of producing this second edition. Typing the dictionary’s third of a billion characters took 120 person-years, and proofreading took 60 person-years more. Then the editors had to merge the sequences and ensure the results made sense. They somehow met their deadline. In March 1989, the massive dictionary appeared with entries for microprocessor and pixel, disco and psychedelic, New Left and Third World, LSD and UFO. The weight of the 20 volumes: 115 pounds.
Source
Ex coll. Karolyne & Bryan A. Garner. HHD no. 106