Gill's Jargon dictionary

[Jeffrey Kopp]

Hi, David.

Well, I was surprised to find this often-reprinted book is not listed at
either Powell's or Amazon's sites.  It is on the shelf of many Northwest
libraries, but I presume you might prefer to own a copy.  Two historical
societies offer what are apparently reprints; they are probably of earlier
versions now in public domain.  Be aware this particular book has gone
through many revisions and editions and appeared in diverse forms over more
than seventy years; earlier may be better.  See Duane Pasco's remarks in
the second section of http://www.geocities.com/~tenaswawa/jn14.htm.

The two sources which turned up on my Alta Vista search were:

THE KITSAP MUSEUM STORE http://www.waynes.net/kchsm/store.html 
lists "Gill's Dictionary of Chinook Jargon, John Gill 6.00"

WHITE RIVER VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Auburn, WA
http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/cpsha/books/books_kc.html lists "Gill's Chinook
Jargon - $4.50" 

I got a bit engrossed in this quest, as I just got a zippier Internet
connection, and I also found my own bookmarks to on-line catalogs was quite
limited.

The WSU library system can be searched at http://griffin.wsu.edu/search/.

This link will run a search for Gill, John Kaye in the WSU library system.
It shows three different editions in various WSU libraries.
http://griffin.wsu.edu/search/a+gill,+john/1,9,22,B/exact&aGill+John+Kaye&1,3

The Portland Area Library System has a page of links to library catalogs
around the Northwest and elsewhere at:
http://www.portals.org/libraries.html.  It seems most library catalogs
require Telnet capability, but if you have Windows 95 it is built-in. 

A page of links to Web sites of Washington libraries is at
http://www.walib.spl.org/washlibs/html/washlibs.html.  Several of these may
offer on-line catalog access.

I found the Spokane Co. Library District has copies of both the 1899 and
1933 editions at "N Spokane Reference," and the Spokane Public Library has
a 1933 edition at "Downtown NW Closed Stack."  One of these is probably the
"waxy paper" copy you refer to, but one of the other ones might be in
better shape.

Regards,

Jeff

On Mon, 9 Nov 1998 13:10:42 -0800, you wrote:

>Hey,
>
>Does anyone have a copy or know of a library that has JK Gill's Jargon
>dictionary?  Our Public library in Spokane does have it, but it's on this
>very fragile waxy paper and screams when we try to photocopy it.  PS -
>This one would have some sentimental value to me; JK Gill used to be a
>stationery store in Spokane (and Portland).
>
>Thanks!
>
>Best,
>Dave