Domestic Encyclopedia

The Domestic Encyclopaedia; or, A dictionary of facts, and useful knowledge: comprehending a concise view of the latest discoveries, inventions, and improvements, chiefly applicable to rural and domestic economy is a small encyclopedia of the English language, in four volumes, published in London in 1802 by Murray and Highley, and compiled by Anthony Florian Madinger Willich.[1] While most encyclopedias of the time, such as Encyclopædia Britannica, were printed in quarto, or in the case of Chambers Cyclopædia, even folio, the Domestic Encyclopedia was printed in octavo, 5 1/2 by 8+1⁄2 inches. There are roughly 500 pages per volume, and 28 plates in total. Volume 4 includes a 70-page supplement and a 33-page index.[2] The subject matter of the encyclopedia centers around domestic and agricultural information, during a time when most people were farmers. Most of the plates show farm equipment.

An American edition was expanded to 5 volumes octavo by James Mease and published in 1803 in Philadelphia by W. Y. Birch and Abraham Small. Roughly 500 pages per volume, and 35 plates total.

A second American edition was condensed to 3 volumes octavo by Thomas Cooper and published in 1821 in Philadelphia by Abraham Small. Roughly 600 pages per volume.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Willich's Domestic Encyclopedia, 1802, London, Volume I, title page
  2. ^ Willich's Domestic Encyclopedia, 1802, London, Volume IV, p. 387 (supplement) and p. 457 (index)
  • Media related to The domestic encyclopaedia (1803) at Wikimedia Commons
  • The domestic encyclopaedia; or, A dictionary of facts, and useful knowledge: : comprehending a concise view of the latest discoveries, inventions, and improvements, chiefly applicable to rural and domestic economy London: : Printed for Murray and Highley, 32, Fleet-Street; Vernor and Hood, Poultry; G. Kearsley, Fleet-Street; H.D. Symonds, and Thomas Hurst, Paternoster-Row; and the author., M.DCCCII.
  • The domestic encyclopaedia; or, A dictionary of facts and useful knowledge, Philadelphia, W. Y. Birch and A. Small, 1803–1804. 1st American ed.,
  • The domestic encyclopedia: or A dictionary of facts and useful knowledge chiefly applicable to rural & domestic economy. Philadelphia, A. Small, 1821. 2d American edition, with additions, by Thomas Cooper