The Critical Pronouncing Spelling-Book . . . by Hezekiah Burhans, Counsellor at Law.
Philadelphia: Published by Joseph McDowell, 1832. 12mo, original sheep spine, blue boards, 191, [1] pages. Vignette illus. Somewhat rubbed and stained, cheap paper somewhat foxed; rear free endpaper excised; a good, sound copy. Item #18402
A popular pronouncing spelling book, first published in 1821 (but here with a copyright date of 1823), Burhans includes his own system of pronunciation symbols (“Inverted interrogation point ¿ denotes that the letter which follows it will precede it, as an¿gle as ang gle”) and several fine double-page spreads of typefaces and syllables. None of Burhans various books is particularly common in institutions; this cataloger feels a certain pang not to have handled Burhans’ later title (and a perhaps more descriptive title reflecting the true joys of spelling lessons in school), The Monotonical Speller, and Docile Reader, of the English Language (New York, 1847).
Price: $150.00