WILKINS, John (1614-1672). An Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language. London: Sa. Gellibrand and John Martyn, 1668.

WILKINS, John (1614-1672). An Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language. London: Sa. Gellibrand and John Martyn, 1668.
Two parts in one, 2o (317 x 187 mm). 2 folding engraved plates, 2 engravings in text (one full-page) and 3 folding tables on 2 sheets (some creasing to tables). Contemporary English blind-tooled calf, spine gilt-ruled and lettered (some wear to joints, some rubbing). Provenance: Sir Thomas Seabright (armorial bookplate).

FIRST EDITION. It contains a large ontology, a written and spoken language derived from the ontology, and a dictionary that maps terms in the ontology to English. Examples that relate hundreds of other human languages to the ontology are included. While many areas of the ontology are only of historical interest, there are numerous insights into issues of ontology and knowledge representation that should be of interest to the modern reader. Wing W-2196.