The Century Dictionary was admired for the quality of its entries, the craftsmanship in its design, typography, and binding, and its excellent illustrations. It has been used as an information source for the makers of many later dictionaries, including editors of the Oxford English Dictionary, who cited it over 2,000 times in the first edition. In 1913, Stewart Archer Steger from the University of Virginia published his Ph.D. dissertation "American Dictionaries" and devoted a 14-page Chapter VI on Century Dictionary. He concluded the chapter with these words: "Altogether, The Century Dictionary far surpasses anything in American lexicography
I agree about the Century, Hanson. I have a beautiful set of the later-printed volumes right here, one of the six-volume editions printed on "India paper."
At some point this spring, a project I've been working on that greatly concerns the Century will be revealed to the world. 🙂