Contributors
For a full list of project contributors, see Johnson's Dictionary Online Community Page:
Keywords
Samuel Johnson, Dictionary of the English Language, 1755 edition, digitized images, historical dictionaries, lexicography, digital humanities, 18th-century literature, book history
Description
This dataset comprises high-resolution digitized images of pages from the 1755 first edition of A Dictionary of the English Language. The images support research in 18th-century lexicography, textual scholarship, and book history, and enable transcription, computational analysis, and comparative editorial work across editions.
The full-page facsimile images were produced by the University of Florida Digital Support Services Team at the George A. Smathers Libraries. Entry-level images were created by the project team. Transcriptions were also supported by additional reference scans from the Warren N. and Suzanne B. Cordell Collection of Dictionaries at Indiana State University.
This project was made possible through funding and support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the College of Arts and Humanities, and the Center for Humanities and Digital Research at the University of Central Florida.
Data Source
Original printed volumes of the 1755 edition of A Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson, digitized from holdings at the University of Florida and Indiana University libraries.
Abstract
This dataset contains digitized page images from the 1755 first edition of A Dictionary of the English Language, contributed by the University of Florida and Indiana University as part of a digital humanities project led by Beth Rapp Young. The collection provides foundational primary source material for the study of 18th-century English lexicography and supports research in textual analysis, transcription, and historical linguistics.
Date Created
2026
Release Date
2026
Document Type
Data
Sponsorship
Funding and support provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the College of Arts and Humanities, and the Center for Humanities and Digital Research at the University of Central Florida.
Granting Agency
National Endowment for the Humanities
Language
English
Rights
Public domain. For project-specific rights and usage guidance, see: Johnson's Dictionary Online Copyright Page https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/blog/copyright/
College
cah
Department
English
STARS Citation
If you are using images from the Johnson’s Dictionary Online, please credit the site using the citation recommendations on the How to Cite page: https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/blog/how-to-cite/
Recommended Citation
If you are using images from the Johnson’s Dictionary Online, please credit the site using the citation recommendations on the How to Cite page: https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/blog/how-to-cite/
Notes
This dataset represents the first edition (1755) of the dictionary and may be used in conjunction with the 1773 edition dataset for comparative research.