Lemuel Dole Nelme

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Lemuel Dole Nelme (d. 1786[1]) was an English craftsman, now remembered for wide-reaching theories on language.

Contents

[edit] Life

He was a maker of instruments and dealer in ships' merchandise[2] of the eighteenth century. Nelme was in business in Exchange Alley in London around 1750. He held a Government post as Clerk in 1764, and participated in the Royal Society of Arts at the end of the 1760s.

[edit] Language and symbols

Nelme was the author of An essay towards an investigation of the origin and elements of language (1772), a speculative book on the origin of languages, and alphabet symbolism. Nelme was interested in Anglo-Saxon as proto-language, and compiled (or suggested the compilation of) an Anglo-Saxon dictionary. He is said to have deferred later to the theory of Rowland Jones on Celtic as proto-language. Johanna Drucker[3] attributes to Clement of Alexandria's Stromateis some of his symbolic theory, outlines his version of Biblical history and the 'ol' ("all") key to symbols, and reproduces some of his illustrations.

[edit] Works

  • An Essay towards an Investigation of the Origin and Elements of Language and Letters, London, Printed by T. Spilsbury for S. Leacroft (1772); reprinted: R. C. Alston, ed., English Linguistics, 1500-1800: a Collection of Facsimile Reprints, No. 354. Menston, Scolar Press, (1972). ISBN 0854178694

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cordell Pre-1901 Dictionaries Etc. Searchable database
  2. ^ Websters Instrument Makers Database - Letter N: listed.
  3. ^ The Alphabetic Labyrinth (1995), p.24, pp. 228-231.

[edit] See also