Meanderings of Memory is a lost book published in London in 1852 and attributed to Nightlark (probably a pseudonym). Although it is cited as a first or early source for over 50 entries in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the current OED editors have been unable to locate a surviving copy. OED editors made their search for the elusive source public in May 2013.
OED citations
The OED is a comprehensive multi-volume historical dictionary, whose first edition was published in installments called fascicles between 1884 and 1928. The definition of every sense of every headword entry is accompanied by quotations, listed chronologically, from cited sources, to illustrate when and how the word was used. These citations were mostly submitted to the editors by volunteer readers in what current OED editors describe as an early instance of what is now called crowdsourcing. The editors selected a subset of quotations, including the earliest one for a given sense, for inclusion. They typically verified the citations given, though some might be taken on trust based on the submitter's reputation or previous reliability.
The first edition of the OED included citations from Meanderings of Memory for senses of 50 entries: chapelled, cock-a-bondy, couchward, day, dike/dyke, droop, dump, epistle, extemporize, fancy, flambeau, flesh, foodless, fringy, full, gigantomachy, goal, goalward, hearthward, idol, inscriptionless, lump, peaceless, rape, re- (prefix), reliefless, rheumatize, sanctuaried, sap, sarcophage, scarf, scavage, shoe, slippery, sun, templed, transplanter, tribe, tribunal, trouse, trunked, un- (prefix), unbusy, unstuff, vermined, vulgar, warmthless, wen, whinge, and width. In 2010, the third edition of the OED added the word revirginize, whose earliest citation is the 51st from Meanderings of Memory. Inspection of the original submission slips in the OED archive in 2013 revealed that they came from Edward Peacock (1831–1915), an antiquary, writer, and regular OED volunteer reader living near Brigg in Lincolnshire.
+ Headword (class) Meanderings ref Quotation Form and/or sense Ref chapelled (ppl adjective) I. 182 The Chapelled templer chapelled Vol.II p.276 c.2 cock-a-bondy I. 65 Who can trim a cock~abundy, turn a rod with him? cock-a-bondy Vol.II p.568 c.1 couchward I. 182 Care for your couchward path. couchward Vol.II p.1049 c.2 day I. 149 Day-drowsiness and night's arousing power. "23. General combinations; c. With agent-nouns and words expressing action, '(that acts or is done) by day, during the day, as distinguished from night'" day-drowsiness Vol.III D p.51 c.1 dike/dyke (noun) I. 15 Dyke-cloistered Taddington, of cold intense. "10. attrib. and Comb." dike-cloistered Vol.III D p.359 c.1 dike/dyke (noun) I. 53 The dikeside watch when Midnight-feeders stray. "10. attrib. and Comb." dikeside Vol.III D p.359 c.1 droop (adjective) I. 87 In the droop ash shade. droop Vol.III D p.678 c.2 dump (adjective) Not specified in OED (1st ed.) An heiress doughy-like and dump. "2. Of the consistence of dough or dumpling; without elasticity or spring" Vol.III D p.714 c.1 epistle (verb) I. 35 Tis noted down—Epistled to the Duke "2. b. To write (something) in a letter." Vol.III E p.246 c.2 extemporize I. 47 Matter to sustain The staggering extemporizer's pain extemporized Vol.III E p.455 c.3 fancy I. 79 The *fancy-grazing herds of freedom's pen. "B. attrib and Comb; 1. General relations; (c) Instrumental, originative and adverbial" fancy-grazing Vol.IV F p.61 c.2 flambeau I. 166 Flambeaued folly of the long procession. flambeaued Vol.IV F p.280 c.2 flesh (noun) I. 157 Air coloured, scarcely carnate, or a flesh. "5.b. ellipt. for flesh-colour" Vol.IV F p.315 c.1 foodless I. 10 Galls them no more their foodlessness or fag. foodlessness Vol.IV F p.397 c.3 fringy I. 206 Fluttering as the mantle's fringy rim. "2. furnished or adorned with a fringe or fringes; covered with fringes." Vol.IV F p.552 c.2 full (adjective) I. 79 Where *full-dug foragers at evening meet In Cow-bell concert. "12. Comb. a. with nouns forming combinations used attrib." full-dug Vol.IV F p.590 c.2 gigantomachy I. 128 One is the sculptor, of the statue nice, Or Gigantomachies of rock and ice. "2. A representation of [ the war of the giants against the gods]" Vol.IV G p.159 c.2 goal (noun) I. 131 With a giddy foot and *goal-ward rush. "6. attrib. and Comb." goalward Vol.IV G p.262 c.3 hearthward I. 206 Hag of the hearthward cringe and tripod stool. hearthward Vol.V Pt.1 p.165 c.2 idol I. 211 A heathen lamp supplies With meagre beam his *Idol-anchored eyes. "10. Comb.; e. instrumental and locative" idol-anchored Vol.V Pt.2 p.25 c.3 | inscriptionless I. 71 A margin stone I crave Inscriptionless, or chiselled by the wave. inscriptionless Vol.V Pt.2 p.329 c.1 | lump (verb3) I. 12 I the mattress spread, And equal lay whatever lumps the bed. "1. b. To form or raise into lumps." Vol.VI Pt.1 p.499 c.3 peaceless I. 20 Coins that were tinkled, ever shook In pouch of peacelessness. peacelessness Vol.VII p.584 c.1 rape (verb2) I. 87 With art's refinement he would ... rape the soul. "4. To transport, ravish, delight" Vol.VIII Pt.1 p.150 c.1 re- (prefix) I. 21 O too *re-brutalized! O too bereaved! "5. b. prefixed to verbs and sbs. which denote 'making (of a certain kind or quality)', 'turning or converting into —', esp. those formed on adjs. by means of the suffix -ize" re-brutalize Vol.VIII Pt.1 p.188 c.1 revirginize Where that cosmetic .. Shall e'er revirginize that brow's abuse revirginize reliefless I. 23 Alone reliefless in thy cold distress reliefless Vol.VIII Pt.1 p.408 c.1 rheumatize I. 57 Raw November's rheumatizing grass. "2. To make rheumatic, affect with rheumatism." Vol.VIII Pt.1 p.628 c.3 sanctuaried I. 175 If a thought Should cream the blood in sanctuaried court. sanctuaried Vol.VIII Pt.2 p.83 c.3 sap (noun5) I. 164 He crowned his head but with another cap Than Cardinal's—for that he wants no Sap. "A simpleton, a fool." Vol.VIII Pt.2 p.100 c.3 sarcophage I. 210 Yon vermined Sarcophage. "2. A flesh-eater" Vol.VIII Pt.2 p.109 c.2 scarf (noun1) I. 109 Scarf-like and ethereally slight. "7. attrib. and Comb." scarf-like Vol.VIII Pt.2 p.187 c.3 scavage (verb) I. 56 The brain will scavage and the breast unstuff. scavage Vol.VIII Pt.2 p.196 c.1 shoe I. 163 He looked submission with a shoeward eye. "6. attrib. and Comb.; c. Special comb." shoeward Vol.VIII Pt.2 p.724 c.3 slippery I. 64 Thou silvery-backed, and slippery-bellied Eel. "9. Comb." slippery-bellied Vol.IX Pt.1 p.223 c.3 sun I. 196 Sunfaced choristers. "12. Comb.; c. Similative and parasynthetic" sunfaced Vol.IX Pt.2 Su–Sz p.153 c.2 | sun I. 128 And Sun-side Alps all tortuously slip. "13. Special Combs.: sun-side (now rare) the side facing the sun, the sunny side (also attrib.)"Vol.IX Pt.2 Su–Sz p.153 c.2 | templed (ppl adjective) I. 114 We .. Rambled such river sides and templed lands. "3. Furnished or adorned with a temple or temples." Vol.IX Pt.2 T–Th p.167 c.2 transplanter I. 21 So thence uprooted with transplanter care, In other soil it scents another air. transplanter Vol.X Pt.1 Ti-Tz p.275 c.3 tribe (verb) I. 104 Her nature may with thine be tribed. tribe Vol.X Pt.1 Ti-Tz p.339 c.3 tribunal I. 32 Tribunalled judge, he weds the weaker cause, Holds sternly up as he lays down the laws. tribunalled (adjective) Vol.X Pt.1 Ti-Tz p.341 c.1 trouse I. 86 The belted blouse Of velvet black, and closely-fitting trouse. trouse Vol.X Pt.1 Ti-Tz p.408 c.2 trunked (adjective) I. 132 The trunked forest's deep Where graces dance. trunked "I 1. Having a trunk, as a tree" Vol.X Pt.1 Ti-Tz p.428 c.3 un- (prefix) I. 15 A thing *unmental, mannerless and crude. un- "7. freely prefixed to adjectives of all kinds" unmental Vol.X Pt.1 U p.31 c.1 un- (prefix) I. 76 Hope, *uncelestialized by heathen hand. un- "8. prefixing to past participles; a. Simple past pples. in -ed; (c) forms in -ized" uncelestialized Vol.X Pt.1 U p.32 c.2 un- (prefix) I. 5 Worn As weary nakedness, *unshooned, unshorn. un- "9. Adjectival forms in -ed, from substantives" unshooned Vol.X Pt.1 U p.32 c.3 unbusy (adjective) I. 196 If bigotted, or most unbusy herd, O'er stocked with time and talent, were preferred. unbusy Vol.X Pt.1 U p.73 c.2 unstuff I. 56 The brain [it] will scavage and the breast unstuff. unstuff Vol.X Pt.1 U p.357 c.2 vermined (adjective) I. 210 Yon vermined Sarcophage. vermined Vol.X Pt.2 V p.136 c.2 vulgar (adjective) I. 149 She was not *vulgar-viewed, her thinkings took The self-same tenor. "14. Comb." vulgar-viewed Vol.X Pt.2 V p.327 c.3 warmthless I. 100 Vain and virtueless and warmthless grown. warmthless Vol.X Pt.2 W–Wezzon p.105 c.3 wen (noun1) I. 111 The wen-necked women. "1. c. Applied to the swelling on the throat characteristic of goitre. Also Comb." wen-necked Vol.X Pt.2 W–Wezzon p.314 c.1 whinge (noun) I. 170 With cur-like whinge to such soft cutting whip. whinge Vol.X Pt.2 Wh–Wyzen p.51 c.3 width I. 98 The *widthless road. widthless Vol.X Pt.2 Wh–Wyzen p.114 c.3
OED revision The second (1989) edition of the OED retained almost all the information of the first edition essentially unrevised. The third edition (publication ongoing since 2000) is fully revisiting all entries. A staff member revising the entry for revirginize in 2013 sought to verify the word's earliest citation, from Meanderings of Memory: "Where that cosmetic ... Shall e'er revirginize that brow's abuse". When the staffer failed to locate the work, OED chief bibliographer Veronica Hurst launched a deeper search. No copy could be located; Hurst found no mention in Google Books, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography or other works consulted; and confirmation of the book's existence initially rested entirely upon a short listing in an 1854 catalogue of G. Gancia, a bookseller in Brighton:
Investigating the Latin epigraph was another dead end. It translates to "why did my tears please you more, my Philomel?" and does not appear to be a quotation from another work.
Public appeal On 3 May 2013, OED editors posted about the book on the "OED Appeals" section of the website, which continues the volunteer-reader tradition by asking the public for help with the history of particular words or other lexicographic issues. The original post was:
The appeal was reported in the general media.
Ongoing search Seven Gancia catalogues are bound in a volume once owned by an A. F. Rodger, now in the Oxford University library and on Google Books. Three of these list Meanderings of Memory, with variations in detail and price: the Third Catalogue for 1852 on page 20;"G. Gancia's Third Catalogue for 1852 of Rare Books, and manuscripts of extraordinary Beauty, Early-printed Books upon Vellum, Romances, Faceties, Poetry, Travels, &c., on sale at 73, King's Road, Brighton." p.20 (in 7 bookseller's catalogues) the First Catalogue for 1854 on page 10;"G. Gancia's First Catalogue for 1854 of Rare Books, and Manuscripts of extraordinary beauty, Early-Printed Books, Romances, Poetry, Aldines, Elzeviers, Chronicles, Books of Prints, Travels, &c., on sale at 73, King's Road, Brighton." p.10 (in 7 bookseller's catalogues) and the Second Catalogue for 1854 (referred to by the OED) on page 27."G. Gancia's Second Catalogue for 1854 of Rare Books and Manuscripts of extraordinary beauty, Early-Printed Books, Romances, Poetry, Aldines, Elzeviers, Chronicles, Books of Prints, Travels, &c., on sale at 73, King's Road, Brighton." p.27 (in 7 bookseller's catalogues) The John Rylands Library, which contains many of Edward Peacock's private papers, found no copy of Meanderings of Memory. In 1893, a reader asked The Bazaar, Exchange and Mart to value the book; it replied, "We know nothing about this book, never having seen it before. The probability is that it is of little value."