Vintage Reference Books
Updated September 20, 2026
| Lot number | 240 |
| Auction | Cedars Fine Estate Part 2 |
| Date | October 7, 2026 at 8:05 PM EDT |
| Auction house | Amber Door Estate Sales Inc. |
| Location | Niagara-on-the-Lake |
A collection of three vintage hardcover reference volumes. The first is H.W. Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, published by Oxford University Press. The volume is bound in navy blue publisher's cloth with gilt-stamped titles to the spine and the Oxford University coat of arms in gilt on the front board. The second is Pears' Cyclopaedia, Fifty-Seventh Edition, published by A. & F. Pears Ltd. This red cloth-bound volume features a detailed list of sections on the spine and an illustrated front board. The back cover serves as a commercial advertisement for Pears' Soap and includes printed ruler scales in both inches and centimeters. The third volume is the Universal High School Dictionary, based on the foundations of Noah Webster and modernized by Charles Morris, published by the John C. Winston Company. It is bound in black textured cloth with a gilt-stamped oval vignette on the front board. All volumes feature standard reference layouts with double-column text. Dimensions for Fowler volume (measured against a ruler): H 14.5 cm x W 9.8 cm. Condition: All volumes show typical signs of age and shelf wear, including rubbing to the cloth at the extremities, bumped corners, and minor fraying at the head and tail of the spines. Pears' Cyclopaedia exhibits heavier wear, with significant darkening and surface rubbing to the red cloth spine. All volumes show even toning to the paper edges. The bindings remain secure and the text blocks are intact. No dust jackets are present.
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