Chamber's Encyclopaedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for The People by N/A - 1880

London: W. and R. Chambers, 1880. Revised Edition. 10 Volumes. Hardcover, 1/2 Leather over stippled boards. Original, Very Good Condition. Illustrated with Maps and numerous Wood Engravings. Rare, complete set of this early revised edition in exceptional condition for age. Good Provenance, certificate of authenticity supplied, books are from the collection of an historical Australian pastoral family and have not been held anywhere else.
Chambers's Encyclopaedia was founded in 1859 by William and Robert Chambers of Edinburgh and became one of the most important English language encyclopaedias of the 19th and 20th centuries, developing a reputation for accuracy and scholarliness that was also reflected in other works produced by the Chambers publishing company. The encyclopaedia is no longer produced.
Before publishing an encyclopedia, Chambers produced a smaller publication, Chambers's Information for the People. This began as a serial publication in 1835. Improved two volume editions were published in 1842 and 1848. A third improved edition appeared in 1857, shortly before the Chambers Brothers publication of the first edition of their major encyclopedia in 1860. Further new, two volume editions were published in 1875 and 1884, both of which are denominated the Fifth edition. Congruently with this a second series of editions were published in Philadelphia by a succession of publishers including J. B. Lippincott. The 1848 edition is stated to be the first American edition, while the 1856 ed. is claimed to be the 15th. Further American editions were published up to 1867. The first edition, entitled Chambers's Encyclopaedia A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People, was partly based on a translation into English of the 10th edition of the German-language Konversations-Lexikon, which would become the Brockhaus Enzyklopädie. The publishers found it necessary, however, to supplement the core text with a significant amount of additional material, including more than 4000 illustrations not present in Brockhaus.


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