Wilkins, John (1614-1672). An Essay Towards a Real Character And a Philosophical Language. [With:] An Alphabetical Dictionary, Wherein all English Words According to their Specifications, Are either referred to their places in the Philosophical Tables, Or explained by such Words as are in those Tables. London: for Sa. Gellibrand, and for John Martin, 1668.

2 parts in one volume, folio (318 x 191 mm). Engraved title vignette, 4 engraved plates (one folding), 2 large folding tables; license leaf before title. (Minor dampstain and wormhole at upper margin of first leaves, small repair to corner of first two leaves, front black remargined, a few other minor stains and edge worming, edge tear on G3 repaired.) Contemporary paneled calf (neatly rebacked, endpapers renewed but original blanks retained, fore-corners repaired). Provenance: Birkenhead Library (rubberstamp on title-page verso); contemporary notes on the work laid in.

FIRST EDITION of a key work in the history of linguistics and language. A founding member of the Royal Society, John Wilkins here proposes a system in which all knowledge is arranged into hierarchical “philosophical tables,” each concept assigned a corresponding “real character” intended to transcend spoken language. The accompanying dictionary indexes English words to this scheme, allowing them to be translated into Wilkins’s symbolic system. Wing W-2196.

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