
The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' First Edition (1768–1771) is a 3-volume reference work, an edition of the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's earliest period as a two-man operation founded by
Colin Macfarquhar
Colin Macfarquhar (1744/5 – 2 April 1793) was a Scottish bookseller and printer who is most known for co-founding ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' with Andrew Bell, first published in December 1768. The dates of his birth and death remain uncerta ...
and
Andrew Bell, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was sold unbound in subscription format over a period of 3 years. Most of the articles were written by
William Smellie and edited by Macfarquhar, who printed the pages. All copperplates were created by Bell.
Publication history
The ''Britannica'' was the idea of
Colin Macfarquhar
Colin Macfarquhar (1744/5 – 2 April 1793) was a Scottish bookseller and printer who is most known for co-founding ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' with Andrew Bell, first published in December 1768. The dates of his birth and death remain uncerta ...
, a bookseller and printer, and
Andrew Bell, an engraver, both of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. They conceived of the ''Britannica'' as a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
reaction to the French ''
Encyclopédie
, better known as ''Encyclopédie'' (), was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It had many writers, known as the Encyclopédistes. It was edited by Denis ...
'' of
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during th ...
(published 1751–1766), which was widely viewed as
heretical
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy.
Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...
. The ''Encyclopédie'' had begun as a French translation of the popular English encyclopedia, ''
Cyclopaedia'' published by
Ephraim Chambers
Ephraim Chambers ( – 15 May 1740) was an English writer and encyclopaedist, who is primarily known for producing the '' Cyclopaedia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences''. Chambers' ''Cyclopædia'' is known as the original source ...
in 1728. Although later editions of Chambers' ''Cyclopaedia'' were still popular, and despite the commercial failure of other English encyclopedias, Macfarquhar and Bell were inspired by the intellectual ferment of the
Scottish Enlightenment
The Scottish Enlightenment (, ) was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century, Scotland had a network of parish schools in the Sco ...
and thought the time ripe for a new encyclopedia "compiled upon a new plan".
Needing an editor, the two chose a 28-year-old scholar named
William Smellie who was offered 200
pounds sterling
Sterling (Currency symbol, symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217, currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of account, unit of sterling, and the word ''Pound (cu ...
to produce the encyclopedia in 100 parts (called "numbers" and equivalent to thick
pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...
s), which were later bound into three volumes. The first number appeared on 10 December 1768 in Edinburgh, priced
sixpence or 8
pence
A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is t ...
on finer paper. The ''Britannica'' was published under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
"A Society of Gentlemen in Scotland", possibly referring to the many gentlemen who had bought subscriptions.
[Kogan, Herman (1958). ''The Great EB: The Story of the Encyclopædia Britannica.'' Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Library of Congress catalog number 58-8379.] By releasing the numbers in weekly installments, the ''Britannica'' was completed in 1771, having 2,391 pages. The numbers were bound in three equally sized volumes covering Aa–Bzo, Caaba–Lythrum, and Macao–Zyglophyllum; an estimated 3,000 sets were eventually sold, priced at 12 pounds sterling apiece.
Illustrations and censorship
The First Edition also featured 160 copperplate illustrations engraved by Bell. Some illustrations were shocking to some readers, such as the three pages depicting female
pelvis
The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an Anatomy, anatomical Trunk (anatomy), trunk, between the human abdomen, abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also c ...
es and
fetus
A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic development, embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Pren ...
es in the
midwife
A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...
ry article; King
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
commanded that these pages be ripped from every copy.
Essay-style and organisational plan
The key idea that set the ''Britannica'' apart was to group related topics together into longer essays, that were then organized alphabetically. Previous English encyclopedias had generally only listed related terms separately in their alphabetical order, rather like a modern technical dictionary, an approach that the ''Britannica'' management derided as "dismembering the Sciences". Of this new organisational plan, Smellie wrote that the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' "...is better calculated to answer all the purposes of a Dictionary of Arts & Sciences than any hitherto published". Although anticipated by
Dennis de Coetlogon, the idea for this "new plan" is generally ascribed to
Colin Macfarquhar
Colin Macfarquhar (1744/5 – 2 April 1793) was a Scottish bookseller and printer who is most known for co-founding ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' with Andrew Bell, first published in December 1768. The dates of his birth and death remain uncerta ...
, although
Smellie claimed it as his own invention.
Sources used
Smellie wrote most of the first edition, borrowing liberally from the authors of his era, including
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
,
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
,
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...
and
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
. He later said:
Reception and requests for a second edition
The vivid prose and easy navigation of the first edition led to strong demand for a second. Although this edition has been faulted for its imperfect scholarship, Smellie argued that the ''Britannica'' should be given the benefit of the doubt:
Smellie strove to make ''Britannica'' as usable as possible, saying that "utility ought to be the principal intention of every publication. Wherever this intention does not plainly appear, neither the books nor their authors have the smallest claim to the approbation of mankind". On the occasion of the
200th anniversary of the 1st edition,
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. published a facsimile of the 1st edition, even including "
age spots
Liver spots (also known as age spot, solar lentigo, "lentigo senilis", "old age spot", "senile freckle") are blemishes on the skin associated with aging and exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. They range in color from light brown to re ...
" on the paper. This has been periodically reprinted and is still part of Britannica's product line.
Critics branded it the "Gospel of
Satan
Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...
" and doctors denounced the ''Britannica'' as they resented its undermining of their authority.
References
External links
''Encyclopædia Britannica, 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, etc. are explained as they occur in the order of the alphabet / by a Society of Gentlemen in Scotland; illustrated with one hundred and sixty copperplates''. hicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 1979?Facsimile of the 1st ed.: Edinburgh : Printed by A. Bell and C. Macfarquhar and sold by Collin Macfarquhar, 1771. at
HathiTrust
HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries. Its holdings include content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digit ...
Encyclopaedia Britannica: 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 AlphabetEdinburgh: Printed for A. Bell and C. Macfarquhar, 1771. Full color scans at the
National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...
*
Encyclopaedia Britannica: 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' first edition reprint, 3 volumes; London: Printed for J. Donaldson, 1773
* Searchable copy on google books
Volume 1Volume 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Encyclopaedia Britannica First Edition
01
1768 in literature
1768 introductions
Book series introduced in the 1760s
1768 non-fiction books
1768 in Scotland
18th-century encyclopedias
Scottish Enlightenment
Literature first published in serial form
Illustrated books
George III
Censored books