cwh@drutx.UUCP (HoffmeyerC) (06/09/85)
Two items: 1. OED editions quality; 2. Other dictionaries. I got my own copy of the Compact Edition of the OED a little over ten years ago. My own copy was printed by The Clarendon Press. I have seen copies printed by Oxford University Press, and made available by the Book of the Month Club (et al). My own estimate is that the Clarendon is a physically superior pair of volumes. The OUP papers are a dead chalk white, as compared with the high rag, rich creamy colour and feel of the Clarendon papers. And I understand that the Clarendon binding is superior, though I can speak only for the papers. The Clarendon Press Edition is *considerably* more expensive, but I have found it an easier book to read - the chalk white paper of the other is uncomfortable to the eyes. I suspect the Clarendon will stand up to Time better. ------ A fondness for the OED suggests but does not require a fondness for etymology and philology. There are two dictionaries, both classics that I would recommend. One is the Lewis and Short "A Latin Dictionary", the second is the Liddel and Scott "Greek Lexicon", both published by the Clarendon Press. I hope this doesn't all sound like an add for Clarendon. They are a very old and reputable house, and I've been fortunate to acquire their editions of everything from Calligraphy and Paleography to a dictionary of Old Saxon. "Some kids get their kicks vandalizing mailboxes - I like to look up old words." : Al Azif 22:13-14 "from the painstakingly crafted Gothic interior of WB2YHE" - Carl Hoffmeyer Tech Pubs AT&T Information Systems, Denver drutx!cwh