Difference between revisions of "Encyclopaedia, or, a Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature"

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Encyclopaedia, Or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature''}}
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Encyclopædia, or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature: Constructed on a Plan, by Which the Different Sciences and Arts are Digested into the Form of Distinct Treatises or Systems''}}
__NOTOC__
 
 
{{BookPageInfoBox
 
{{BookPageInfoBox
 
|imagename=EncyclopaediaDictionary1798.jpg
 
|imagename=EncyclopaediaDictionary1798.jpg
|link=https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/3466232
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|link=https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991017502379703196
|shorttitle=Encyclopaedia, Or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature
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|shorttitle=Encyclopædia, or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature
|vol=volume two
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|vol=volume eight
|author=Thomas Dobson
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|lang=[[:Category:English|English]]
|lang=English
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|editor=[[:Category:Thomas Dobson|Thomas Dobson]]
|publoc=Philadelphia
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|edition=First American from third English
 +
|publoc=[[:Category:Philadelphia|Philadelphia]]
 
|publisher=Printed by Thomas Dobson
 
|publisher=Printed by Thomas Dobson
 
|year=1798
 
|year=1798
 
|set=18
 
|set=18
}}[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dobson_%28printer%29 Thomas Dobson] (c.1751-1823) was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, but immigrated to the United States with his wife and three daughters in 1783. Dobson operated a thriving printing shop in Philadelphia. He printed many notable works, but his claim to fame was sealed by his publication of the first American encyclopedia.<br />
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|desc=[[:Category:Quartos|4to (28 cm.)]]
<br />
+
|shelf=A-2
Dobson’s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobson%27s_Encyclop%C3%A6dia ''Encyclopaedia''] was largely a copy of the third edition ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'', which had been published the year before, but Dobson sought to dispel what he perceived to be a British bias. The most notable differences were in regards to American geography and history, such as the surrender of the British in the American Revolution.<ref>Robert Arner, ''Dobson’s Encyclopaedia: The Publisher, Text, and Publication of America’s First Britannica, 1789-1803'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991).</ref> The encyclopedia was a hit amongst American scholars. Purchasers of the work included famous leaders, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton.<ref>James M. Wells, The Circle of Knowledge: Encyclopaedias Past and Present (Chicago: Newberry Library, 1968).</ref>
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|shelf2=A-3
 +
}}[[wikipedia:Thomas Dobson (printer)|Thomas Dobson]] (c.1751 &ndash; 1823) was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, but immigrated to the United States with his wife and three daughters in 1783. Dobson operated a thriving printing shop in Philadelphia. He printed many notable works, but his claim to fame was sealed by his publication of the first American encyclopedia.
 +
 
 +
Dobson's [[wikipedia:Dobson's Encyclop&aelig;dia|''Encyclopaedia'']] was largely a copy of the third edition ''Encyclop&aelig;dia Britannica'', which had been published the year before, but Dobson sought to dispel what he perceived to be a British bias. The most notable differences regarded American geography and history, such as the surrender of the British in the American Revolution.<ref>Robert Arner, ''Dobson's Encyclopaedia: The Publisher, Text, and Publication of America's First Britannica, 1789-1803'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991).</ref> The encyclopedia was a hit amongst American scholars, and purchasers included [[wikipedia:Alexander Hamilton|Alexander Hamilton]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[wikipedia:George Washington|George Washington]], and [[George Wythe]].<ref>James M. Wells, ''The Circle of Knowledge: Encyclopaedias Past and Present'' (Chicago: Newberry Library, 1968).</ref>
  
==Bibliographic Information==
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<gallery widths=225px heights=300px perrow=3>
'''Author:'''
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File:DobsonDictionary1798v9Illustration.jpg|<center>Lacerta, plate CCIXI, volume nine.</center>
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File:DobsonDictionary1798v10Illustration4.jpg|<center>Mechanics, plate CCLXXXIX, volume ten.</center>
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File:EncyclopaediaDictionary1798v14Illustration.jpg|<center>Passions, plate CCCLXXIX, volume fourteen.</center>
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</gallery>
  
'''Title:''' Encyclopaedia, Or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature
+
==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
 +
Listed in the [[Jefferson Inventory]] of [[Wythe's Library]] as "American Encyclopedia. 18.v. 4to." and kept by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. He later sold a copy of the 1798 edition of ''Encyclopaedia, or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature'' to the Library of Congress, but it no longer exists to verify Wythe's prior ownership.<ref>E. Millicent Sowerby, ''Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson'', (Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, 1952-1959), 5:150-151 [[http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015033648133;view=1up;seq=163 no.4891]].</ref> Both [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s.v. "[http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe Member: George Wythe]," accessed on April 21, 2013.</ref> on LibraryThing and the [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433 Brown Bibliography]<ref>Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433.</ref> suggests the copy Jefferson sold may have been Wythe's copy. Brown also notes a second copy of this set owned by Jefferson and sold by his grandson, Francis Eppes in 1873. The Wolf Law Library purchased a copy of the 1798 edition.
  
'''Published:''' Philadelphia: Printed by Thomas Dobson, 1798.  
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==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
 +
Bound in original full calf with black and red spine compartments. Bears the owner's signature of Josiah Calef on the title page of volume eight. Purchased from Charles Thomas.  
  
'''Edition:'''
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Images of the library's copy of this book are [https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolflawlibrary/albums/72157637698951736 available on Flickr.] View the record for this book in [https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991017502379703196 William & Mary's online catalog.]
  
==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
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===Full text===
Listed in the [[Jefferson Inventory]] of [[Wythe's Library]] as ''American Encyclopedia. 18.v. 4to.'' and kept by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. He later sold a copy to the Library of Congress.<ref>E. Millicent Sowerby, ""Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson'' 2nd ed. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983), 5:150-151 (no.4891).</ref> Both [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s. v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on April 21, 2013, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe </ref> on LibraryThing and the [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433 Brown Bibliography]<ref> Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433</ref> suggests the copy Jefferson sold may have been Wythe's copy. Brown also notes a second copy of this set owned by Jefferson and sold by his grandson, Francis Eppes in 1873.
 
  
==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
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<div style="width: 60%; column-count:3; -moz-column-count:3; -webkit-column-count:3;">
Bound in original full calf with black and red spine compartments, marbled paste downs and ffp's. This set bears the owner's signature of Jonah Calef. Purchased from Charles Thomas Bookseller.  
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol1.pdf Volume I] (94MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol2.pdf Volume II] (95MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol3.pdf Volume III] (88MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol4.pdf Volume IV] (88MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol5.pdf Volume V] (90MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol6.pdf Volume VI] (96MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol7.pdf Volume VII] (90MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol8.pdf Volume VIII] (89MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol9.pdf Volume IX] (91MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol10.pdf Volume X] (84MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol11.pdf Volume XI] (92MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol12.pdf Volume XII] (87MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol13.pdf Volume XIII] (91MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol14.pdf Volume XIV] (88MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol15.pdf Volume XV] (93MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol16.pdf Volume XVI] (92MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol17.pdf Volume XVII] (96MB PDF)
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*[http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/DobsonEncyclopaediaOrADictionaryOfArtsSciences1798Vol18.pdf Volume XVIII] (125MB PDF)
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</div>
  
View this book in [https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/3466232 William & Mary's online catalog.]
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==See also==
==External Links==
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*[[George Wythe Room]]
[http://books.google.com/books?id=jIllkJwwZaAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Encyclopaedia,+Or,+A+Dictionary+of+Arts,+Sciences,+and+Miscellaneous+Literature+1798&hl=en&sa=X&ei=S3nUUeq9PIHC4AOl_IGgDw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books]
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*[[Jefferson Inventory]]
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*[[Wythe's Library]]
  
===References===
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==References==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
  
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__NOTOC__
 
[[Category:Encyclopedias]]
 
[[Category:Encyclopedias]]
 
[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
 
[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
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[[Category:Jefferson's Books]]
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[[Category:Thomas Dobson]]
 
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]
 
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]
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[[Category:English]]
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[[Category:Philadelphia]]
 +
[[Category:Quartos]]

Latest revision as of 13:04, 4 October 2021

Encyclopædia, or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature
EncyclopaediaDictionary1798.jpg

Title page from Encyclopædia, or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature, volume eight, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary.

Author {{{author}}}
Editor Thomas Dobson
Translator {{{trans}}}
Published Philadelphia: Printed by Thomas Dobson
Date 1798
Edition First American from third English
Language English
Volumes 18 volume set
Pages {{{pages}}}
Desc. 4to (28 cm.)
Location Shelf A-2
  Shelf A-3

Thomas Dobson (c.1751 – 1823) was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, but immigrated to the United States with his wife and three daughters in 1783. Dobson operated a thriving printing shop in Philadelphia. He printed many notable works, but his claim to fame was sealed by his publication of the first American encyclopedia.

Dobson's Encyclopaedia was largely a copy of the third edition Encyclopædia Britannica, which had been published the year before, but Dobson sought to dispel what he perceived to be a British bias. The most notable differences regarded American geography and history, such as the surrender of the British in the American Revolution.[1] The encyclopedia was a hit amongst American scholars, and purchasers included Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and George Wythe.[2]

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Listed in the Jefferson Inventory of Wythe's Library as "American Encyclopedia. 18.v. 4to." and kept by Thomas Jefferson. He later sold a copy of the 1798 edition of Encyclopaedia, or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature to the Library of Congress, but it no longer exists to verify Wythe's prior ownership.[3] Both George Wythe's Library[4] on LibraryThing and the Brown Bibliography[5] suggests the copy Jefferson sold may have been Wythe's copy. Brown also notes a second copy of this set owned by Jefferson and sold by his grandson, Francis Eppes in 1873. The Wolf Law Library purchased a copy of the 1798 edition.

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

Bound in original full calf with black and red spine compartments. Bears the owner's signature of Josiah Calef on the title page of volume eight. Purchased from Charles Thomas.

Images of the library's copy of this book are available on Flickr. View the record for this book in William & Mary's online catalog.

Full text

See also

References

  1. Robert Arner, Dobson's Encyclopaedia: The Publisher, Text, and Publication of America's First Britannica, 1789-1803 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991).
  2. James M. Wells, The Circle of Knowledge: Encyclopaedias Past and Present (Chicago: Newberry Library, 1968).
  3. E. Millicent Sowerby, Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson, (Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, 1952-1959), 5:150-151 [no.4891].
  4. LibraryThing, s.v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on April 21, 2013.
  5. Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433.