Description
The Encyclopaedia britannica is a familiar cultural icon, but what do we know about the early editions that helped shape it into the longest continuously published encyclopedia still in existence?
This first examination of the three eighteenth-century editions traces the Britannica's extraordinary development into a best seller and an exceptional book of knowledge, especially in biography and in the natural sciences. The combined expertise of the contributors to this volume allows an extensive exploration of each edition, covering its publication history and evolving editorial practices, its commentary on subjects that came in and out of fashion and its contemporary reception. The contributors also examine the cultural and intellectual milieu in which the Britannica flourished, discussing its role in the Scottish Enlightenment and comparing its pressrun, contents, reputation, and influence with those of the much more reform-minded Encyclopedie.
About the Author
Jeff Loveland is a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Utah Tech University. Much of his research concerns the history of encyclopedias, especially eighteenth-century European encyclopedias. His publications include The Early Britannica (1768-1803) (2009, co-edited with Frank A. Kafker) and The European Encyclopedia, from 1650 to the Twenty-First Century (2019).
Reviews
'This collective effort produces extremely useful detail , marking the changing content of successive editions and thus giving clues to what was seen as novel or in need of revision. [...] with its painstaking detail and awareness of the Scottish Enlightenment context, The Early Britannica: The growth of an outstanding Encyclopedia provides a valuable basis for future comparative work on the European encyclopedic project.'
- Isis
'The contributors have conducted an extraordinarily thorough investigation of the Encyclopaedia britannica. [...] They have unearthed valuable information about the editors and contributors to the first three editions and present compelling evidence about the range and treatment of their sources. This volume could greatly contribute to our understanding of the state of knowledge at the end of the eighteenth century.'
- Judith Hawley, Royal Holloway, University of London
Book Information
ISBN 9780729409810
Author Frank A. Kafker
Format Paperback
Page Count 376
Imprint Voltaire Foundation
Publisher Liverpool University Press
This first examination of the three eighteenth-century editions traces the Britannica's extraordinary development into a best seller and an exceptional book of knowledge, especially in biography and in the natural sciences. The combined expertise of the contributors to this volume allows an extensive exploration of each edition, covering its publication history and evolving editorial practices, its commentary on subjects that came in and out of fashion and its contemporary reception. The contributors also examine the cultural and intellectual milieu in which the Britannica flourished, discussing its role in the Scottish Enlightenment and comparing its pressrun, contents, reputation, and influence with those of the much more reform-minded Encyclopedie.
About the Author
Jeff Loveland is a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Utah Tech University. Much of his research concerns the history of encyclopedias, especially eighteenth-century European encyclopedias. His publications include The Early Britannica (1768-1803) (2009, co-edited with Frank A. Kafker) and The European Encyclopedia, from 1650 to the Twenty-First Century (2019).
Reviews
'This collective effort produces extremely useful detail , marking the changing content of successive editions and thus giving clues to what was seen as novel or in need of revision. [...] with its painstaking detail and awareness of the Scottish Enlightenment context, The Early Britannica: The growth of an outstanding Encyclopedia provides a valuable basis for future comparative work on the European encyclopedic project.'
- Isis
'The contributors have conducted an extraordinarily thorough investigation of the Encyclopaedia britannica. [...] They have unearthed valuable information about the editors and contributors to the first three editions and present compelling evidence about the range and treatment of their sources. This volume could greatly contribute to our understanding of the state of knowledge at the end of the eighteenth century.'
- Judith Hawley, Royal Holloway, University of London
Book Information
ISBN 9780729409810
Author Frank A. Kafker
Format Paperback
Page Count 376
Imprint Voltaire Foundation
Publisher Liverpool University Press
