Beschreibung:

[H.(N.)] The Ladies Dictionary; being a General Entertainment for the Fair-Sex: A Work Never attempted before in English, first edition, small section of lower corner of 2C2 torn away, no loss of text, 2C3 outer margin a little frayed, lightly browned, a few small, mostly marginal, water-stains, occasional spotting, front free endpaper with 2 ms. notes, 1 (dated 1782) dealing with the mis-pagination present in the volume, the other (a later note) a general critique of the work, upper joint broken, contemporary calf, rebacked, preserving original backstrip (with loss to ends and 1 edge), rubbed, [Wing H99], 8vo, Printed for John Dunton at the Raven in the Poultrey, 1694. ⁂ A scarce dictionary dealing with all aspects of life deemed of interest to women, including long entries on fashion, clothing, cosmetics and beauty, courtship, men and "keeping house", together with sections on issues of morality titled "Secret lovers", "Women in men's clothing", "Books" ("The forbidding of idle books makes young people more curious to read them"), "Virgins", "Womens phancies in child-bearing", "Whoring" ("causes a man to spend flesh for silver, till he becomes so lank and lean, that his legs are scarce able to support their late portly master"), and "Night-walkers and Divers" ("she opens her shop-windows when all other trades about to shut them").