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The Encyclopædia Britannica
Third Edition (1797) is an 18-volume reference work, an edition of the
Encyclopædia Britannica. It was developed during the encyclopedia's
earliest period as a two-man operation initiated by Colin Macfarquhar
and Andrew Bell, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Most of the editing was done by
Macfarquhar, and all the copperplates were created by Bell.
The third edition was produced between 1788 and 1797. Colin Macfarquhar,
the editor of volumes 1 - 12, up to "Mysteries," died in 1793, age 48,
of "mental exhaustion". His heirs were bought out by Bell, who became
sole owner of Britannica. Bell hired George Gleig, later Bishop Gleig of
Brechin (consecrated 30 October 1808), to carry on the job as editor for
the remainder of the third edition. James Thomson worked with Gleig on
the editorial side.[1] Gleig then also edited the 1801 and 1803
supplements.
The third edition was published as 300 weekly numbers (1 shilling
apiece); these numbers were collected and bound in 30 parts (10
shilling, sixpence each) and finally in 18 volumes with 14,579 pages and
542 plates. The third edition established the foundation of the
Britannica as an important and definitive reference work for much of the
next two centuries. With nearly double the scope of the 2nd edition,
Macfarquhar's encyclopedic vision was finally realized. This edition was
also very profitable, yielding £42,000 profit on the sale of about
10,000 copies. The 3rd edition began the tradition (continued to the
present) of dedicating the Britannica to the reigning British monarch,
then King George III; describing him as "the Father of Your People, and
enlightened Patron of Arts, Sciences and Literature", Gleig wished
...that, by the Wisdom of Your Councils, and the Vigour of Your Fleets
and Armies, Your MAJESTY may be enabled soon to restore Peace to Europe;
that You may again have leisure to extend Your Royal Care to the
Improvement of Arts, and the Advancement of Knowledge; that You May
Reign long over a Free, Happy and a Loyal People...
These 18 Volumes are collected and presented here on 1 DVD. All
files are in PDF format. Great for research projects, in and
outside of academia. Perfect for scrapbooking as well. These
are scanned pages in PDF format. It is not in the same "new"
format that current editions of Britannica come in. All files are
copy protected with our business name on it. We recommend you move
the files to your hard drive for faster use, as opposed to reading them
from the DVD. |
