Editing Webster's Dictionary (section)

==== 1844 printing ====
When Webster died, in 1843, his heirs sold unbound sheets of his 1841 revision ''American Dictionary of the English Language'' to the firm of J. S. & C. Adams of [[Amherst, Massachusetts]]. This firm bound and published a small number of copies in 1844 – the same edition that [[Emily Dickinson]] used as a tool for her poetic composition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edl.byu.edu/index.php|title=Emily Dickinson Lexicon|access-date=May 31, 2011|archive-date=August 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810234426/http://edl.byu.edu/index.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', second edition (Amherst, Massachusetts: J. S. & C. Adams, 1844).</ref> However, a $15 (adjusted for inflation: $512.78) price tag on the book made it too expensive to sell easily, so the Amherst firm decided to sell out. Merriam acquired rights from Adams, as well as signing a contract with Webster's heirs for sole rights.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mobile.masslive.com/advmasslive/db_96659/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=bjieKlGe&detailindex=2&pn=0&ps=5&full=true |title="G&C Merriam: Where the words of Noah Webster lived and thrived" Wayne Phaneuf, ''The Republican'' |access-date=May 29, 2011 |archive-date=March 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309230036/http://mobile.masslive.com/advmasslive/db_96659/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=bjieKlGe&detailindex=2&pn=0&ps=5&full=true |url-status=live }}</ref>