Encyclopedia Britannica (3 volumes, complete); or, a dictionary of arts and sciences, compiled upon a new plan, in which the different sciences and arts are digested into distinct treatises or systems; and the various technical terms, &c. are explained as they occur in the order of the alphabet
Edinburgh: Colin Macfarquhar, nd c. 1979. Reprint of the 1771 first edition. Leatherette. Quarto, pp. 697, 1009, 953, illustrated with 160 copperplates. Very Good. Item #23759
The Encyclopedia Brittanica is the oldest continuously published encyclopedia in the world. It was founded by bookseller and printer Colin Macfarquhar and engraver Andrew Bell, both of Edinburgh. Almost all of the articles were compiled by Scottish naturalist and printer William Smellie. It was first published serially in weekly installments, and later bound into three volumes. The first edition was strong in the areas of medicine and science, but weak in history. The illustrations are well made, but some of the plates illustrating midwifery offended some readers. The section on architecture covers beauty and taste; the origin of buildings; the five orders of architecture; pedestals, columns, arches, gates, doors, pediments,ballustrades, windows, and more. A genuine view into the history of arts and sciences in the 18th century.
Price: $60.00