Browse Exhibits (2 total)

David Ramsay's "The History of the American Revolution", Volumes I-II (1789)

David Ramsay's The History of the American Revolution is a two-volume history of the Revolutionary War, from the growth of colonial dissent in the 1760's (following the French and Indian War) to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

The copies of The History of the American Revolution, housed in the Rare Books collection of Tisch Library at Tufts University, are first-edition, printed in 1789 by Philadelphia-based R. Aitken and Son.

Written only six years following the Treaty of Paris, Ramsay's narrative is considered the first comprehensive work on the American Revolution. His work was met with acclaim upon publication--so much so that his reputation as a "historian" dwarfed his status as a "politician" for posterity.

John Trumbull's "The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill" (1786); the painting is a popular Neoclassical painting depicting the infamous battle, which largely took place on nearby Breed's Hill.

18th century, American Revolution, David, History 96 History of the Book, New England, Ramsay

"Dictionary of the English Language" by Samuel Johnson (1755)

An exhibition of a first edition of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language, printed in 1755 in London and currently housed at Tufts University's Tisch Library Special Collections.

Drawing upon contemporary literature and historical sources, Samuel Johnson pieced together his Dictionary of the English Language over the course of nine years of intense labor and financial hardship. Johnson's Dictionary was the first English dictionary of its kind and provided comprehensive grammar lessons, a history of the English language, and definitions for most known English words. Johnson's dictionary was widely regarded as the preeminent dictionary for the centuries following its publication and was adopted for the instruction of English in colonies across the globe.

18th century, Dictionary, use of the English Language