NMLP P-045632 · True-first precedence · minted 2026-07-19
The American Language
H. L. Mencken · Alfred A. Knopf (New York) · 1919
US first (Knopf, New York, 1919) is the true first; there is no UK or original-language precedence. 'First thus' trap: the work was substantially rewritten across the 2nd (1921), 3rd (1923), and completely reset and enlarged 4th edition (Knopf, 1936), plus its two Supplements (1945, 1948) — those are the standard reading texts and are frequently mislabeled 'first edition.' Only the 1919 numbered limited issue is the true first.
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New Mexico Literacy Project — True-first precedence NMLP P-045632 for "The American Language" by H. L. Mencken (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/id/point/p-045632, CC BY 4.0, dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21184548).