Absentee bids let you place your maximum bid on an item before the live auction begins. During the live show, we’ll continue bidding on your behalf up to your max bid — just like leaving a bid with a traditional auctioneer.
When you place an absentee bid, you’ll choose a bid strategy. Your chosen strategy determines how the current bid will be set at the time your bid is placed. Your maximum bid always remains confidential.
The available strategies are:
🐢 Slow & Steady — starts your bid low and lets others chase you.
⚡💥 Power Bid — starts at about half your max to show intent without revealing your top number.
♥️♠️ All In ♦️♣️ — sets the current bid to your full bid amount right away.
The current bid shown on each lot reflects all confirmed absentee bids and updates automatically as new bids come in.
When the live auction starts, bidding will begin at the current bid. The auctioneer will continue bidding on behalf of absentee bidders up to their max bids.
Because absentee bids can arrive seconds apart, the current bid you see may not always include bids still being processed. Refresh the page for the most up-to-date information.
For our full absentee bid policy, please click here.
Bidding Quick Facts
How bidding works
All items have a minimum bid of $1.00.
When "No Bids" is displayed, it means no absentee bids have been placed on this item yet.
Once bids are placed, the current bid will be displayed instead.
For more information on the bidding process, please click here.
Bid Successfully Submitted!
Your absentee bid for Lot 195 - “Webster's Handy Dictionary Of The English Language” Antique Illustrated Pocket Dictionary With Pencil Sketch Of Young Girl, Published By American Book Company, New York, 1877 was successfully submitted—thank you for bidding with us!
The current bid displayed will not update immediately. You will receive a confirmation email shortly.
You may continue to place additional bids.
For our full absentee bid policy, please review the Auction Rules.
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Lot 195 - “Webster's Handy Dictionary Of The English Language” Antique Illustrated Pocket Dictionary With Pencil Sketch Of Young Girl, Published By American Book Company, New York, 1877
Lot 195 - “Webster's Handy Dictionary Of The English Language” Antique Illustrated Pocket Dictionary With Pencil Sketch Of Young Girl, Published By American Book Company, New York, 1877
Small antique Webster’s Handy Dictionary of the English Language, published by the American Book Company (New York / Cincinnati / Chicago), adapted from the larger dictionaries of Noah Webster, LL.D. Includes extensive front and rear endpaper advertising for Webster’s full “International Dictionary” and features printed illustrations of the American Sign Language manual alphabet.
Front endpaper contains an original pencil drawing of a young girl, captioned in pencil “Just to please the boys,” with additional pencil inscriptions on the facing page. Significant wear and structural issues: front hinge splitting with separation along the seam, the illustrated leaf fragile and at risk of detaching; multiple other breaks visible within the binding. Covers are dark brown embossed cloth, edge-worn with fraying to spine ends and surface wear consistent with heavy use. A well-handled, character-rich little illustrated dictionary retaining a charming period pencil sketch.