10 Years After

Black Letter Day

There's something about the introduction to Lewis Thomas' Et Cetera, Et Cetera that I find so very romantic:

As far as I can remember, dictionaries have been part of the furniture in our house. I have the American Heritage Dictionary propped against one leg of my easy chair, amd a heavy etymology book, usually Barnhart, against the other, and Pokorny's Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch within easy reach on a shelf alongside. The AHD is still the 1969 edition,on the rug for nearly tewnty years, and before that it was the Webster. My wife isn't sure she trusts these sources, preferring the Oxford English Dictionary, all the volumes on another shelf where she can get to them whenever disputes arise, as they do.

There are so many images in this that I find pleasant I wouldn't know where to begin! I just inherited my grandfather's recliner this evening. I wonder if the OED can be picked up on ebay cheaply?!