Encyclopaedia Britannica, anyone?

Here is something to discuss:

I was browsing ebay, when I saw this auction for this beautiful Encyclopaedia Britannica Anniversary Edition 1994, featuring FS Chaucer's Canterbury Tales LE sitting proud on top:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Encyclopedia-Britannica-LEATHER-ANNIVERSARY-SET-MINT-/120659...

Obviously, this got me thinking, are there any FS devotees here that have an Encyclopaedia Britannica set at home? Or do you use the Internet to consult for information like Google and Wikipedia?

I must admit that I have been pondering of acquiring one set for myself but the initial cost of a new one is quite expensive (nobody seems to have a used set here in Denmark, although the nearest would be the UK via ebay).

Hi, ironjaw. I have the 15th edition. I don't use it as much as I used to, but it was very useful before the Internet. It's always interesting to check the entries. Don't know what my descendants will think of it years from now!

15th Ed. Love it.

>3 LesMiserables:

Yes, you are quite right, LesMis. I bought the set when moving from the US back to Spain and it came together with my books and other belongings. The EB holds a special place in my memories.

> 4

And doesn't it look good too? All 32 Volumes :-)

.... and meant to add, I have purchased 3 yearbooks since then, which are uniform with the set and impressive in content.

> 6

The Annuals are not published anymore. My last one is 1989.

>1 ironjaw: - I buy access to its online edition when I need to go deeper than Wikipedia.
Need the space for. more folios :-)

Hi Antonio, LesMis and Pepe. Thanks for the messages. It sounds great that there are other members out there that enjoy EB.

Do you still believe its a good investment. I mean if you were to buy a set today, would you still buy one considering the Internet? I use Wikipedia as well although it is informative I still read it with reservations due to inaccurate information present sometimes.

>9 ironjaw:

It's a hard decision. If you have the money to spend, I believe it's possible to get a set for around US$1100. Basically, it is the 15th edition and you would have to check the year it is actually printed. Nothing beats a book for ease of looking up information. The EB organization is also helpful to find related subjects, although you can't avoid going from one volume to another. The publisher offers many CD and DVD enhancements but I don't believe those are transferable so they might not be available in the second hand market. Check those things out. I wouldn't part with my EB, and I find it useful to research items that are not current.

I can only speak about the content, .. Britannica online and the wikipedia, play in different leagues.. (BTW thank God for the wikipedia ) If you need to do some serious background research,( if making a mistake is a least an embarrassment , or could cost you money ) you should look at the Britannica.

Problem is that Britannica online is pretty difficult to navigate..:-P. So as drasvola says, if money is not the problem buying a set could be a good idea. they'll probably give you complimentary online access..

My family has a set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica...from the 1950s. My grandfather was so proud when he bought it for his family that even now, when he's passed on, my father can't bring himself to get rid of them. (I mean, I'm sure they're still perfectly lovely books, but we're certainly not using them for reference very often anymore.)

I have the 13th edition from 1926, it is really the 1910 edition with an extra volume to fill in the 16 year gap.
Very interesting to get such a comprehensive view on how people saw the world a 100 years ago.
My parents bought it at an auction some 24 years ago for 200 nkr (about 35 $).
The seller held up one 2000 page volume as an example, but my parents did not realize there were more than one. 16 massive volumes in total, each with a weight of 3,5 kg.
I was certainly overjoyed when I received the whole lot.

Thanks for all your comments.
Antonio Your thoughts are insightful. It is interesting that you mention that EB is "useful to research items that are not current." That is exactly what I am looking for.

Pepe I remember in the mid to late 90s I had a Britannica CD/DVD on the computer which was difficult to navigate to the point I actually stopped using it compared to Microsoft Encarta which was so easy and resourceful although not that scholarly. I was a student back than so I guess times have changed. I hope their software DVD has improved. I have not used Britannica online yet. Will do that to get a feel.

Yes Wikipedia is great definitely! It is really easy to navigate and provides a good introduction to any given topic. However, Google Books is a god send (my opinion is it is the greatest notion since sliced bread) thousands of scholarly books available to search so easily. It definitely saved me when I was writing my master's thesis in space law to reference out of print and very very pricey academic research books.

Yes, valkylee, unfortunately I keep hearing the same thing that people are certainly not using the EB books very often. I guess it is more easier to look up online than search a heavy book.

Ardagor, the secondhand market for EB is merciless, currently there are no secondhand editions available here in Denmark. English books except those mass market paperbacks are hard to get by here. Is it true that you Norwegians can shop abroad eg. at Amazon US without paying import fees and VAT? The 1910 edition I found is public domain and freely available, it is part of Gutenberg.

Being more a book print edition book guy I think I am going to get myself a Christmas present for the first time this year.

PS: If anyone is interested in reading the 11th edition the following link provides the original scans and a good interesting read about how it all began:

http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=User:Tim_Starling/ScanSet_PNG_demo&am...

Yes the rule is as long as you buy books for personal use only its free of import fees, vat etc.
It is a law that is very good for me.
The import fee/VAT kick in at 200 nkr for most other imported goods.

I have the 1911 set which I enjoy immensely. Like the OED it is quite the place to browse, you never know, or at least I never know where I will end up.

> 6

Annuals? Do you mean the Yearbooks? My 15th Edition is complemented by Yearbooks 2008, 2009, 2010.

>17 LesMiserables:

They were called "Annuals" some years back:

> 19

I see!

I have the iconic 1911 edition (available for your perusal free online, btw), salvaged from a library sale. Some volumes have had their bindings detach, but most are in good condition (the binding is leather). I've never seriously consulted it, and doubt I ever will, but I wondered whether I might not use it for a circus "encyclopedia read" of a lifetime (and hope death doesn't fell me long before Vetch--Zymotic diseases).

While the text is often laughable at best, the illustrations, maps and photographs are precious.

They are beautiful books and nothing beats having a full set of encyclopaedias to browse. When I was a child my parents bought me a childrens encyclopaedia which was then published in monthly hardback volumes. They were the most wonderful books I owned - I still get something of that thrill when I browse through old sets of the Britannica.

Alas, in this age of the internet, I think that multi-volume encyclopaedias are dead and dying.

A similar publication to Britannica were the Harvard Classics set. These are still being published by Easton Press. Does anyone have a set, I wonder?

>17 LesMiserables:, 18 "My 15th Edition is complemented by Yearbooks 2008, 2009, 2010."

It's all very well for you people in Australia. A$79.90 equates to £50.56, but Britannica are charging us Brits £65.00 for the 2010 volume. That's almost a 28.5% hike on the Australian price. What a rip-off!!!

> 23

Petition? ;-)

#23 That's just wrong considering the EB's spiritual home is in Edinburgh!

I have the 3-volume 1st edition (a 1979 facsimile). Pretty fascinating reading, given that it presents the state of science, art, history, etc., in ca. 1770 UK. I'd probably want to double check any info in it by searching Wikipedia, though. ;-)

Os.

I too have the 1st 3-volume edition (2006 facsimile) as well. It does show how the nature of information changes.

>27 Barton: "I too have the 1st 3-volume edition (2006 facsimile) as well."

So do I. It's the only book I have where foxing has been lovingly added to the pages:

From the publisher's introduction:
"To achieve the original appearance...unique and highly technical processes were used to re-create...the subtle 'foxing', light brown spots that occur naturally on the pages of old books as the result of bacterial action."

A step too far?!!

That's really going to confuse people in another couple of hundred years!

>22 Quicksilver66: I have a set of the Harvard Classics, given to me by an uncle who knew that I coveted them even in my youth. I was shocked and very, very grateful when he presented his set to me upon my graduation from college. They were printed in the year of my birth, 1956.

I can't claim to have read them all, but I have managed to read several of them!

>28 boldface: I love the spots and splotches.(Lovingly applied no doubt.)

>29 justjim:, 29
I've seen this set for sale on Alibris, etc., where they describe the condition with 'some foxing on pages'. Of course, nothing says that a page with facsimile foxing can't develop real foxing, but how would you know?

Os.

I have the 15th, printed in 1991, which I bought for about $100 a few years ago.

I almost never look at them, instead using the Internet. Every once in a while, I pull one out.

I'm glad I have them, though.

They recently offered the Encyclopaedia to me on CD-ROM for $40 AUD which I bought. Really quite good and handy to have on the laptop in the classroom.

34- thanks for the hint. I've been offered this with a Time magazine 12 month subscription -which I don't need at all- but it's good to know...

> 35

Funny, I got a 54 magazine subscription offer from TIME today with a 71% discount plus the 'freebie' of a Digital Video Camera (the Camera is crap of course).

How very odd! I got an unsolicited offer of a Time subscription yesterday as well, with the 'free gift' being a cheap looking telescope.

The return address on the outer envelope was in Hong Kong but the reply paid envelope goes to an address in Sydney.

I suspected that a HK website from which I had ordered a camera battery had sold my address but perhaps, just perhaps, it was the Society?

>37 justjim: : 'I suspected that a HK website from which I had ordered a camera battery had sold my address but perhaps, just perhaps, it was the Society?'

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Surely it would explicitly say if information might be sold to other entities?

I have a set I bought on ebay that is brown leather, but has a red and blue portion on the spine. They look like this:

http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/bks/2091374491.html

I feel like you shouldn't pay more than 2 hundred for a set of EB's. You might have to wait a few months, but you should see a few up there (ebay) eventually. Remember shipping is going to cost a pretty penny. They are fun to browse and the knowledge they contain doesn't change as much as people think. Besides the internet is a fad.

> 38

I'm sure they gave my name to the London review of Books.

>37 justjim:
I got the (unsolicited) Time subscription offer as well. I also linked its appearance to Folio, though I've no evidence for that.

Back to the thread, it's funny to think that as recently as maybe 20 years ago you could have a full-time job selling EB door-to-door. I remember several callers when I was a kid.

I got the (unsolicited) Time subscription offer as well. I took up the offer of 54 magazines because the freebie was the EB on CD. I suspect the FS provided Time with my details.

When trying to figure out what to do with our set of Encyclopaedia Britannica Anniversary Edition, I came across this thread.
We bought this set along with "Great Books of the Western World" as a gift for the family back in 1994. Until both kids were done with high school, it was used for a lot of assigments, but always with great care. Since, I must admit, the internet has been the go-to source for information for all of us.
We are now in the process of moving to Costa Rica, and we have to let go of these books, because they would not survive life in the jungle.
Ironjaw - if I was going home to Denmark soon, I would look into what it would cost to bring them with me.
To everybody - we are looking for a new home for each set, for a reasonable price plus shipping from Virginia:
1) The Encyclopaedia is the Anniversary, 15th edition from 1994, set number 22677, in great condition plus Year Books for 1994 and 1995.
2) Great Books of the Western World, 2nd edition (March 1, 1993) plus The Great Conversation: A Reader’s Guide to Great Books of the Western World. 1993, in mint condition (= never read).
Let me know if you are interested.
Thanks.

>43 CRBibi: CRBibi so your from Denmark? What a wonderful conincidence. It must be a delightful thought of living or movíng to somewhere with such an exotic warmer climate.

Yes, Ironjaw, both my husband and I are from Denmark, graduated Soroe Akademi 1973, but we have lived in Virginia for over 30 years, because we only like the Danish climate in the summer. It is a lot better here in VA, but now we want to retire to eternal summer. Costa Rica is delightful in almost every way.
The books are some of the things that are really hard to part with, but we have to. (Thank goodness for eReaders!) I have been searching for people and groups associated with Denmark somehow who might be interested in all our Danish books (and other things like silver ware and platters that are uniquely Danish). Hope to find some takers. Afterall, Danes comprise 0.5% of the population in USA.

>45 CRBibi: CRBibi

Great to hear from another Dane. I graduated from Frederiksberg Gymnasium 2002. One assertion that we both can agree on is that the summers here in Denmark are fabulous but that's it. I applaud your decision to retire to eternal summer. I wish I only was that lucky that I could depart from this country. I am stuck here because I am unable to raise the finance needed for me to leave and find another good job. Life here although a bit deceiving because it can be "hyggeligt" is entirely demotivating for an highly educated individual. I miss being in an English speaking country. I must admit that I will have to disappoint you in that I do not prefer Danish written books.

Something rotten in the state of Denmark?

If it's any consolation, I somtimes feel the way you do, living in a English speaking country.

But, according to 60 minutes, Denmark is the happiest place on Earth, so what gives? Maybe it's too happy?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/14/60minutes/main3833797.shtml

DanMat, Denmark is not that bad, it's tiny, cosy, safe, people cycle to work, eat healthy organic produce and good for raising children. I am finding it difficult because I love the English language, the civility, opera, and museums. Life is also very slow here, students seem to stay at university for ages prolonging their studies and graduate way later in their mid to late twenties compared to other European counterparts. I can't generalize but many aren't overly ambitious compared to students in the UK. Many are just overly satisfied with their life here, small apartments, cycles (cars are too expensive) and possibly summerhouses and that's it.

Oh and scandinavian design is not expensive here, it is easy to appropriate here as there is always a sale on e.g. Royal Copenhagen porcelain usually 50% off and Bang and Olufsen has been having financial trouble over the years and I just saw and advert in the paper yesterday of their Beovision 10, 32" for a meagre DKK 832 (ca £80) a month over 32 months, interest free.

Although I am fluent in Danish, I find it more natural to discuss in English as my vocabulary is larger and I am more articulate compared to Danish which always seems lacking and sometimes, only sometimes out of place. Unfortunately I am overly convinced, to my detriment, that why see a Danish play, opera, theatre or museum exhibit when an English equivalent would be much more rewarding. Why read a Danish translated book when the English original is far better. I would love the notion of having read something and having it discussed coincidentally in the walks of life.

All the best intellectual experiences in my life has been in London through the Natural History Museum, British Library, British Museum, National Gallery and numerous book stores, tv leisure and documentary David Attenborough programs. My situation is quite personal and I guess my troubles are intellectual.

I guess if I had any immediate family in London I would have moved ages ago. I sincerely apologize for going off topic.

OK, I think I understand where you are coming from. I live in New York so, I have plenty of access to cultural organizations and events. I simply hop on the train and voila, there I am. Also, with being a native English speaker, I get around half (don't hold me to this number, please!) the great works of Literature in my native tongue. I'm so fussy about the translations I read, I can't imagine what it would be like if most everything were a translation.

Anyway, here is another nifty picture of the EB's I have, from a link that hopefully won't die as quickly as the one above did:

http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Britannica-Heritage-Complete-Leather/dp/B000V...

*Thanks for the word "hyggeligt", quite interesting.

thought that you should know ...

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/after-244-years-encyclopaedia-b...

That is a pity. I wonder if they will continue with the year books.

I might pick up a used one for my kids.

I'm not a luddite but I think there is value in just bumping into the entries near the one you were searching for.

>50 P3p3_Pr4ts:

"Limited to 49,999 sets": that makes even the largest Folio Society limitations seem distinctly exclusive!

It's a sad development to me: the experience of being human will suffer, I can't but think, a definite and scarcely reversible impoverishment when we're no longer linked to even the more immediate social past by the continuing presence of a trail of physical books. I'm harbouring here the eighth, ninth and fourteenth editions of Britannica, of which the eighth is both the soundest in binding (half-bound in red morocco with very heavy boards) and the one most often consulted.

We had the big green and white World Books and a set of Funk & Wagnall's. The World Books were purchased from our church organist who doubled as an encyclopedia salesman in 1970. The Funk & Wagnall's had been obtained painstakingly by my borderline illiterate grandmother from the A & P in 1956. There was great fun in thumbing through the pictures. I particularly remember pictures of all the pure bred dogs you could ever dream of and stumbling on another fascinating entry about the goddess Diana.

> 54 ". . . our church organist who doubled as an encyclopedia salesman in 1970."

There has to be a novel in that somewhere . . . .

Reminds me of a Flannery O'Connor.

> 52
I agree. I would usually spend hours in an encyclopedia set when I only intended to look up one thing (of course pre-college, this was usually just a great way to procrastinate about my schoolwork). From my youngest school years (Grade School), I remember going to the library and getting lost for a long time in the World Book encyclopedias we had there. My next door neighbor was a science teacher and he had a full Britannica set from the 1950s. I used to borrow volumes from him since his kids never seemed to have any use for them (surprised he allowed this, I never would with my own books!). I have always had an inordinate love of encyclopedias which goes hand-in-hand with my library fascination. My mother would drop me off on Saturday morning at the local branch of the Library, pack my lunch, and pick me up when they closed. Great for me, great for her, great for my education, but it must have been hell on the poor librarians! I was a very high maintenance and inquisitive child. Not much has changed ;-)

Funny, though, I use find the internet somewhat analgous to this early childhood experience. Who hasn't lost hours bouncing from hyper-link to hyper-link?

I actually paid each month for an on-line subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica from the late 90s until about a year or two ago (well into the Wikipedia era). It was only about $9 a month and even though I never used it during the last three years or so of my subscription, I couldn't quite bring myself to cancel it "just in case."

For me it is even more of a sad moment because I'm convinced that the only reason I am a Folio Society member today is because EB sold my name to the Folio marketing department. Folio sent me an offer in 2000 to join with the 8-volume Gibbon set and I as permanently hooked. The code on my initial mailings indicated as much.

I just bought today Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition - 30 volumes in pretty much fine, near fine condition. Well as the say good things comes to those who wait and yes I have waited years, two years since I started this thread. It was a bargain; the seller remarked that he was pretty surprised that anyone would be interested in this 100 year old set.

I'm not sure what type of binding this is, I would sure like to know the history or what type of edition this is. So if there are Encyclopaedia Britannica historians out there I would sure like to know. The binding seems coarse, it seems like suede, but I'm not sure whether it's leather or something else. All three sides are gilded.

> 58

Yesterday, the Oxford History of English Literature - today, The Encyclopedia Britannica. You're on a roll, Faisel!!

What have you got lined up for the rest of the week? Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians? Frazer's Golden Bough? The Complete Works of Barbara Cartland?

And yes, it looks like suede to me.

>58 ironjaw:

Did you buy a new house or just new bookcases? You had not mentioned and considering your later purchases... :)

Congrats for both sets :)

Congratulations, Faisel! The 11th edition is a hallmark in publishing history. Did you know that there is an online resource?

http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Main_Page

Hahaha. I did not even realise this, Jonathan, I just fell upon this online while browsing for local listings a couple of days ago, and couldn't help myself given the price, 400DKK (ca. £42 / $66). I got the impression that the seller would have thrown this set out if no one had bought it.

Thanks, Anni, no not a new house yet, although I would love a house. I'm cramped in small apartment unfortunately, but hopefully I will win the lotto soon (as I have been telling myself the last 15 years) and build myself a "reading sanctuary" :-)

> 62
Holy $%^&*() that is a great price! No wonder you couldn't pass it up. It will cost you more than that to buy the bookcase to house the set. Congratulations. This is one edition that is worth owning for its historical importance and outstanding articles. And despite its online availability, if you have ever consulted the on line version, you will quickly realize that it is riddled with typos, misspellings, and strange characters. I assume it was uploaded using some type of primitive character recognition software that did not provide a very accurate rendering. In some articles it is not that bad but in others it is so distracting as to be useless to read. So enjoy your correctly printed hard copy.

I tried to find out some information about the binding but could not. A friend of mine picked up this 11th ediition set at an estate sale but I remember his set having a more traditional thin leather/leatherette binding quite different than what you have pictured (I greatly prefer yours). So it is possible that individual subscribers could order different bindings (perhaps a standard and deluxe version).

WOW! Great deal! Very happy for you, and slightly jealous. Hope I stumble across this type of deal one day, haha.

Wow, suede. And in good shape. A wonderful find!

>63 UK_History_Fan: Thanks Sean! It does not look 100 years old, does it? The first thing I said when arriving home was: Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the oldest thing in the house, so be gentle. The set is unbelievably in excellent condition (and I was surprised by the gilding on all three sides - does the normal britannica have this?) and I do think it has to do with the suede binding; I am sure if it was another binding lets say classical leather binding as you mentioned or the other cheaper cloth binding as I have seen, it would surely been in worse condition. All sets of the 11th edition I have seen go on ebay over the last four years have all been unfortunately in dire condition.

By the way does anyone know more about suede as a binding in general and its qualities, advantages and disadvantages? I'm sure this is not the deluxe edition as I would assume suede is not deluxe. I haven't had time to check the colophone but will do to see if there is some other hints, but right now I am trying to keep my niece off the books.

>61 drasvola:, 64 and 65 thanks I appreciate it!

By the way Sean, I first read the 11th edition as a pdf scan from the Archive site which I prefer; your quite right about the spelling mistakes on the online versions generally available. Check wikipedia end of the page where it lists the volumes, eg. Volume 1. It will take you to the Archive page and select PDF or the link here or read online. Antonio also list the website in no 61 (thanks Antonio) but I prefer reading the pdf which gives a more authentic feel. I recommend the "Prefertory Note" and the "Editorial Introduction"

> 66

The 15th edition volumes have gilding only on the top side, Faisel.

>67 drasvola: Thanks Antonio for that information. I had a hunch that it was not the case but thought they generally had gilding on all sides.

> 66 Congratulations on the 11th edition EB. Years ago I picked up Volumes 4 & 21 of a 11th edition printed at Cambridge University Press - a smooth leather binding with gold gilt design and lettering on front back and spine, and lovely onion-skin paper that has held up to the years very well.

Yeah, I know, two lonely volumes. I couldn't walk away from them - what if the rest turned up? Of course that didn't happen, so they just make me sad. Still, I have Bis to Cal and Pay to Pol covered.

>69 Speedicut: Thanks. I would love to see pictures of those two volumes. Don't despair, I am sure if you keep track of the different websites such volumes do turn up!

And if I do find another bargain on an 11th edition I will post it here to let everyone know.

In continuation of >58 ironjaw: I've find another Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th edition on the secondary market in this version that I'm picking later today from the seller:



I think t's a much nicer version than the India paper soft cover binding I have. This edition is 30 volumes with 3 additional volumes (Does that make them 12th edition?). The books are bound in leather blocked with gold on the spines. The seller remarks that despite its age it is in good condition. I'm paying 500 DK, ca. £52 / $76.

Can't wait to check it out.

PS: interesting fact is that Ernest Shackleton had the india paper version with him on his Endurance expedition.

Thought I'd revive this thread.

Read through an article on Stoicism today (15th Edition v25.596b). There's something really satisfying about reading a full article the old-fashioned way, rather than today's practice of 'skim and search' for discrete information.

Hi everyone. Just saw this on eBay today that might be of interest. The ninth edition. Looks nice. No affiliation with the seller.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm...

Reviving an old thread here but I am happy to announce that I purchased a 2002 edition (32 volumes) on eBay. It only took ten years!

>74 ironjaw: Congrats :) I miss encyclopedias :(

>74 ironjaw:

Congratulations, Faisel. Encyclopedias, sadly, are not much welcome nowadays. Recently, I offered a set to my village public library and was turned down.

>74 ironjaw: Congratulations, it's great to finally get your hands on a book (or several!) after a long patient wait. I envy your having spare space somewhere for 32 new volumes :)

>74 ironjaw: I purchased a 2002 edition (32 volumes) on eBay. It only took ten years!
>77 cronshaw: I envy your having spare space somewhere for 32 new volumes :)

Congratulations Faisel! I'm sure it was worth the wait. Echoing Russell, my Britannica fell victim to my need for more shelf space. I sold it many years ago :(

>78 folio_books:
Ditto, sadly.

>75 AnnieMod:
>76 drasvola:
>77 cronshaw:
>78 folio_books:
>79 wcarter:

What a pleasure to see all these wonderful responses. More so when it comes from learned friends that I remember warmly. Thank you for your good wishes. Time does indeed fly and I remember my late father that accompanied me to buy my first 11th edition (>58 ironjaw: above) though he never understood my madness. I’m so sorry to hear about that, Antonio. Libraries are not what they used to be.

With all the craziness going on in the world, I have found comfort with the idea that printed books such as Britannica makes you slow down and think. The process of looking up a word or item by browsing one’s shelf to find the relevant volume, flicking the pages and scanning the page with your finger to finally find what you are looking for, is in my mind a tranquil process.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen my thirteen-year-old niece become more forgetful than myself on items we have shared memories, for example when we are learning a foreign language. I seem to remember many selective things, going back decades, always related to education rather than for example what I ate yesterday or last week. Maybe my temporary memory is not good. But that has to do with the fact that I remember in those days dashing over to the library (before Google, pre-internet days) and painstakingly researching to look something up and reading voraciously. I think the conquest of finding something after hours of research is somehow rewarded more than something that is found within 30 seconds. I grew up with a typewriter rather than the newest computer as my contemporaries did coming in late.

But that’s just my ramblings

It's the serendipity which is the appealing thing.

A winter evening, a random volume, a glass, a quiet mooch and then - an article BY (not just about) Freud! Perhaps followed by the history of fans and forests of the world, then ferns and and....

I always wanted the last (crimson?) edition before the micropedia/macropedia thing, but like the big OED it is not going to fit in my one bedroom flat. I've got a comparatively diminutive Arthur Mee, but even he's begun to look worried.

>80 ironjaw:

Evocative and welcome reflections, and congratulations from me too on your purchase! We gave away our rather sad-looking fourteenth edition - cloth binding, numerous splitting hinges - shortly before moving home, but the eighth edition has its place in the new library and the ninth on the shelves in my wife's study. I may yet consider adding something much more recent next time an appealing set turns up at the local auction room.

>81 red_guy: "before the micropedia/macropedia thing"

I would like to know more about this change that Britannica brought forward. Are there any articles that cover this or reviews of Britannica? I've tried to Google, but I would much be interested in proper newspaper or literary articles reviewing Britannica. Anyone have access? I just love reading about it

Here is a picture of the set from the seller. I know you all like pictures:

>83 ironjaw:

That's fantastic, Faisel. I want one! It makes you wonder who would have bought this originally and then not even looked at it. The only downside is that the sideboard wasn't included.

>83 ironjaw:

Oh, wonderful! You didn't mention it was still in shrink-wrap. Looks amazing. Even more congratulations!

The same seller has this beautiful 1994 edition in burgundy leather with additional year books, only missing 2017 and 2018 the anniversary edition, although that's a lot of additional shelving space you will need. I wanted this set originally but opted for the 2002 recent one instead, saving a handful of year books:

I think this is the Anniversary Edition (Royal Burgundy)


The price is £450 for the set and £450 for the year books:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Encyclopedia-Britannica-32-volumes-in-leather-burgund...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Collection-of-Britannica-Yearbooks/143999139873



Convince me that a Kindle is more beautiful!

My congratulations too, Faisel, most handsome. I do recall from the OUP group that you have a significant weakness for long runs of big books, but I don't now remember whether you caved in for either the Dictionary, or the DNB, or even both; or whether you were content to be weak-kneed with remote admiration. Confess all!

>83 ironjaw: “ I would like to know more about this change (micropedia/macropedia) that Britannica brought forward. Are there any articles that cover this or reviews of Britannica?“

The only source I know about this development is Mortimer Adler’s “A Guidebook to Learning for the Lifelong Pursuit of Wisdom.” Adler was the General Editor of the encyclopedia then and was instrumental in the design change.

I know of three excellent anthologies of Britannica’s articles over the decades and centuries.

“The Treasury of the Encyclopedia Britannica,” edited by Clifton Fadiman and published by Viking. A leather edition was later published by Gryphon Editions.

“Encyclopedia Britannica Anniversary Edition: 250 Years of Excellence (1768-2018)” published by Britannica.

“All There Is to Know,” edited by Alexander Coleman and Charles Simmons, anthologizes the best articles from the eleventh edition.

I, too, am (or was) a Britannica junkie and own the 2010 edition, the next-to-last printed one. I admit that today, though, I use their online edition a lot. Their last printed Book of the Year was dated 2017.

>87 affle:

Affle, I have to confess, yes I did purchase the 20 volume OED. It's in Denmark in storage. Very happy, indeed that it's crossed off the list. As Jeremy Paxman, remarked three books that one should have: the OED, 11th ed Britannica and DNB. That's what I am going for, eventually, though the family won't be happy with 60 volumes in a flat :o)

>88 jroger1:
I'm kicking myself for not ordering the last printed edition back in 2012 when Britannica advertised that they were ceasing publication. Thanks for the book recommendations, I will order these.

>89 ironjaw: As Jeremy Paxman, remarked three books that one should have: the OED, 11th ed Britannica and DNB.

I'm not quite there - wrong Britannica - but I'll settle for what I have. I think the Britannica Eighth cost me around £50 decades ago, the Oxford DNB was £550 in their most generous sale, and the OED was £187.50 from the Folio Society in a curious episode some years back from which as I recall a few of us benefited. Throw in the other volumes on our reference shelves there - the Folio Oxford Classical Dictionary, Liddell and Scott's Greek Lexicon, a First Folio facsimile and the four volumes of Recording Britain - and if I'd refrained from buying any of them the cash might nearly suffice to remedy my lack of an Orange Fairy Book...

I picked up a copy of the last published edition, as well. My only regret was not realizing that there was actually a high-roller leather-bound version that they kinda held back until the stock of the mainstream version had sold out. By the time I realized that there had been a premium version, it had also sold out. It was probably for the better, financially, that I didn't get the leather version. In any event, since I have a proper set, I can facetiously declare that a library is not a library without some sort of an encyclopaedia!

>90 terebinth:

That is so beautiful. Congratulations on such a amazing collection. I'm sure that I would spend hours and hours looking through your library, if that is a small snippet that you have. I am in awe at those prices. I bought the OED for £525 (total £661.25 incl taxes, shipping to Copenhagen was a mere £5!) I miss those OUP sales.

>92 ironjaw:

The OED was an odd little story - the Folio Society advertised a few sets of its deluxe leatherbound edition in a warehouse sale back in the days when they had a warehouse, at £1250 rather than its published price of £5000. Then when they started arriving with purchasers, and I was one who had found the temptation just too hard to resist, it was immediately apparent that the volumes were really of the standard edition, whose list price at the time was £750. The FS did the decent thing, indeed quite a generous thing, and offered the same 75% discount to buyers disposed to keep the books: hence the £187.50. I'm not sure I was at all disappointed with how it turned out.

>83 ironjaw:
That is the same ser I reluctantly sold for A$100 when I moved from a house to an apartment 3 years ago.

>93 terebinth:

I'm still on the lookout for the leather edition. Never seen one for sale since it went out of print.

>91 treereader:

Oddly enough, I saved a screenshot of the Britannica Shop's offering of the final Commemorative Edition. Who's got £9,999 laying around? What's got me puzzled is that this isn't even the version I was remembering - I thought there was a less costly leather-bound version, perhaps in the $3,000 USD range. Perhaps my mind is just confusing this and the final International Edition.

>96 treereader:
I think there was an earlier leather edition in that price range, perhaps from the mid-90s or a little later. I saw it once on eBay a long time ago.

>97 jroger1:
Would that still have been from the 15th edition lineage? My recollection is that they announced that they were going to stop printing books (2012), the last version was put up for sale, it sold out eventually (a month or two? I forget...), and then a short while after the last of the regular edition sold out, they had both the International Edition and some limited edition leather version for sale. It don't remember that being the £9,999 Commemorative Edition in the link above, though - I found that later when looking for a missing yearbook.

>98 treereader:
The first issue of the 15th edition was published in 1985, but it really wasn’t finished then. It continued to grow in size and scope for several years, maybe a decade, thereafter. I had an early edition and remember being surprised and disappointed about some topics that weren’t covered. Their advertising material neglected to mention the fact that it was a work in progress.

>74 ironjaw: Congratulations on your beautiful set! I’ve been obsessed with the Britannica ever since 1967 or so, when my parents bought me a set of the 69-cent per volume grocery store encyclopedia instead. In more recent years I’ve collected most of Britannica’s fifteen editions – my favorite for browsing is the “Handy Volume Issue” of the 11th edition (1911), tightly-bound in a deep blue-black sealskin. I imagine that it once sat on a shelf in a ship’s cabin on an Arctic voyage. Best copperplate engravings: the 3rd edition of 1797. One of my more elaborately-bound is the 7th edition of 1842 – my set once belonged to a library in Penzance, wherever that is (must look that up on Wikipedia). You Brits have it easy – it’s not easy to come across pre-Civil War encyclopedias on this side of the pond.

>96 treereader: That's amazing. Thank you so much for posting that picture

>94 wcarter: How are you managing the books, Dr Carter? I mean in the apartment. I can't imagine to get rid of any books.

>99 jroger1: I never knew that it was unfinished. I was wondering what those Science/Medical yearly volumes were that I've seen popping up on ebay along with the yearly books?

>100 BangkokYankee: I would love to see the "Handy Volume Issue"; I've never seen blue-black sealskin before. What I love is the history behind the books. Just imagining to whom they belong as you say, fills me with much excitement.

>101 ironjaw:

No problem! I wish I could upload the PDF it came from - the resolution is just a tad better.

I would absolutely love the PDF. I could PM you my email and I can share it via Google Drive

>103 ironjaw:

Actually, I just remembered that I have Acrobat Pro and can export the PDF as an image of arbitrary resolution. Try this improved copy.

I’m going to try this remedy for baldness from the fourth edition (1801-1809):

“In cases where baldness is total, a quantity of the finest burdock roots are to be bruised in a marble mortar, and then boiled in white wine until there remains only as much as will cover them. This liquor, carefully strained off, is said to cure baldness, by washing the head every night with some of it warm. ...A fresh cut onion, rubbed on the part until it be red and itch, is likewise said to cure baldness.”

>105 jroger1:

I wonder whether such measures were inspired by the first (1771) edition, "by a Society of Gentlemen in Scotland", which has nothing to offer but "Baldness, a defect of hair, owing to the want of a sufficient supply of nutricious juice".

The Brittanica volumes are beautiful. And they speak of a more innocent age, when learning was hard won, obtained from real books which had authority and standing, rather than Wikipedia. Congratulations to all of you that have obtained full sets.

In 1960 I received a visit from the High School English teacher the summer before I entered the school. He made a good sale that day because I bought the full Brittanica set; the Great Books of the Western World 57 Volume set; the 10 volume The Great Ideas set; and the 19 volume The Annals of America set. All but the Brittanica set itself survived a tornado that destroyed our house a few years ago and the rest of the books are still actively used.

Neighbors and friends were happy because I had to continue to cut a lot of grass to pay for the books.

>108 Forthwith: so sorry to hear about the tornado. That’s such a scary yet unknown thing here in the Uk. I don’t think one can realise how scary such an event can be. I would like to know more about the 10 volume The Great Ideas set as this is the first time I’ve come across it.

>109 ironjaw:
Search eBay or abe.com for “Great Ideas Program Set.” Lots of sets are available in the $50 range. They are study guides to the first edition of Great Books of the Western World. 10-year reading programs are included as well as summaries and study questions. Page numbers won’t align with the second edition of GBWW, but it is still a useful set.

>110 jroger1:

So you would recommend for the 10 vol. Great Ideas Program that I acquire the 1st edition (54 vol.) set and not the 2nd edition (60 vol.) set?

No, the second edition adds more classical authors as well as 6 volumes of 20th century authors. It also utilizes some better translations, which had been a criticism of the first edition. The Great Ideas Program set is still a good supplement, though, especially at current prices.

>109 ironjaw:
>110 jroger1: Yes, the ten-volume Great Ideas Program is nice to have, if you intend to attempt the slog through the rather intimidating Great Books of the Western World (GBWW). I followed it for a while. There’s a 16-page description of the program here that includes a reading and study guide to Plato's "Crito" and "Apologia", as well as the recommended first-year reading list:

https://www.thegreatideas.org/Tulinwlw/TGIPOFFER.pdf

And then there was the Great Ideas Today, another set that was conceived as an annual publication to supplement the GBWW. It was published by Britannica in 37 volumes by subscription from 1961-1998. The volumes were designed to apply the wisdom of Great Books to the issues of the day, and keep “the Great Conversation” going. At first, at least, each book focused on a theme, with articles by experts whose names you'll recognize: on world government, revolution, women’s rights, race relations, the space race, etc. They also included a lot of also-rans – short great books that didn’t quite make the cut for inclusion in the main set, e.g. Joyce’s “The Dead”, Mann’s “Death in Venice”, Gawain, Nietzsche, and even some of the great books of the East, like Sakuntala and excerpts from “Journey to the West/ Monkey”. It was a good idea at the time perhaps - but by the late 1990's the number of subscribers had dropped and the subscription price had climbed so high that it was no longer feasible to carry on. For that reason the later volumes are rather hard-to-find and correspondingly expensive. You can find the early volumes for a few dollars each, but the last few may run to $100 or more.

Here’s a link to the 37-year index: http://thegreatideasfromthegreatbooks.blogspot.com/p/the-great-ideas-today-index...

>112 jroger1:
>113 BangkokYankee:

Thank you both for your insightful responses. I just need to make a decision on which version to get the first or second edition of the GBWW. The second edition was released in 1990, right? I would like to structure my reading according to the 10 year reading program offered by the Great Ideas Program set.

>114 ironjaw:
The introductory volume of the second edition also contains a 10-year reading program, keyed to the works included in that edition, but the Great Ideas Program set contains several reading programs, one for philosophy, one for science, etc.

The Great Ideas Today set referenced by >113 BangkokYankee: is a treasure trove. The GBWW set includes only longer works originally published in book form, but the GIT set includes many shorter works. They are readily available on the secondary market.

>101 ironjaw: I know exactly what you mean about the romance of some of these old books. Like many of us I can't help scanning the background bookshelves in film and TV - the old Britannicas pop up pretty often. That's my 9th edition on the shelf behind Christopher Plummer's Kipling in "The Man Who Would Be King". I'll try to take and post some pix of the unusual seal binding of the Britannica 11th soon.

>111 ironjaw: >112 jroger1:
And yes, I'm with jroger1 - go for the GBWW 2nd edition! They could afford to pay for better translations after the success of the 1st edition - although I occasionally do prefer some of the cadence and language of some of the old Victorian translators over their modern counterparts.

>115 jroger1:
>116 BangkokYankee:

Thank you again both. I wonder if there’s someone that’s updated the reading page numbers for The Great Ideas Program for the second edition? I’m just concerned that if I start the Program would it be easily identifiable to find 5he relevant pages to read in the second edition?

Just saw an earlier 2016 thread discussing this:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/221367#

I wanted to know if the second edition of GBWW stil suffers from the tiny text

>117 ironjaw:
As far as I know the Great Ideas Program has not been updated. Perhaps the first edition didn’t sell well.

Yes, the print is still tiny. There is an alternative if you are moderately wealthy and have some patience. Franklin Library published a 25th anniversary set of GBWW in 1978-85 in a 96-volume format. They were full leather and most were illustrated. Some of the volumes are inexpensive, but some will set you back a few hundred. Franklin updated several of the translations, too. My recollection is that you can locate them on abe.com by searching on the author, then placing “western world anniversary” in Key Words, and “Franklin” as the publisher. Omitting the author and specifying “Most expensive first” might bring up complete sets if any are available. Here is an old thread that might be helpful: https://www.librarything.com/topic/192444#n5444248

My search turns up this near fine set: https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30791347490&cm_sp=snippet-...

>117 ironjaw: You'll find that the page numbering does not matter at all. The readings are keyed to the titles, not to the page. I don't find the font to be difficult, even to my old eyes. Much of the set is printed double-column and there's not much room to scribble on, if you do that sort of thing. Frankly, I don't think it's the size or layout of the text that wears even committed readers down, but the density of the material and the unfamiliar and archaic styles of discourse. I've never seen the Franklin set but it sounds wonderful. Keep in mind you needn't spend too much for a set - there were a million Americans that somehow wound up buying copies of Apollonius and Plotinus and Ptolemy -and there are a whole lot of pristine sets out there.

>118 jroger1:

Thanks for explaining this. I will keep an eye on this

>119 BangkokYankee:

Thank you very much for clearing up some of the questions I have. I’ve seen there are many sets available and are inexpensive but I have to factor in the shipping to the UK. I think I’m going to go for the first edition. I like the Victorian prose.

OK then! You may wish to consider going to the link I mentioned above: https://www.thegreatideas.org/Tulinwlw/TGIPOFFER.pdf and working your way through the first reading. If you don’t already have Plato they provide links to online versions. See what else the website has to offer – the Aspen Institute is where the great books programs of the last 50 years live on. If you find that exercise interesting and profitable, find a set that works for you.

During a period of unemployment in 2004-2005 I bought for $25-$50 maybe a dozen sets at library sales, and sold them for $200-$300. Last year I bought a set of the 2nd ed. for $150 at a used book shop – an intended gift for my grandson, if he ever shows an inkling of interest. If shelf appeal matters, the 1st. ed. comes in three basic cover variants. The grey-brown linen of the 1950s, the tan leatherette of the 1960’s-1970’s, and the foil -blocked cloth of the 1980’s. The 50’s is a little shabby-looking, the 60-70’s is gaudy and kind of cheap-looking, and the 80’s are the most attractive of the 1st ed. lot. The contents are identical. All are prone to rubbing of the foil titles, but chances are the books will not be well-used.

You might also wish to first check out a popular 2008 critical look at the history of the Great Books fad: “A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books”, by Alex Beam.

As a participant in the Great Books program in school the 60’s and, and having made another assay as recently as the early 2000’s, I still have and intend to keep my set. I like at least knowing what’s in there. I pull a volume down from the shelf every now and then - coincidentally just two weeks ago when I read a beautiful quote from Lucretius in a science text and just had to read it in context. It's kind of ennobling to be at least acquainted with these things, and if I can no longer hold it in my head I can at least point to the right book.

Another good source here is Adler’s How to Read a Book, which has some connection to the University of Chicago great books/core curriculum, one of the few schools that still pays some degree of respect to the Western canon. It is highly readable and also contains a great books reading list. The full list you can find on the book’s Wikipedia page, but the discussion in the book itself is valuable too. I believe Adler might also have been involved either directly or indirectly with the various expressions of the great ideas programs and sets mentioned above, but I’ve forgotten the details.

>121 BangkokYankee:
>122 abysswalker:

I can't thank you all enough. I feel like a pandora box of literature-candy has been opened up. So much to research and learn. That's exactly what I am after: Classical education

On another note, I've came across these two videos, one talking about The Great Ideas Program, 10 vol. set and the other an interesting video showing the personal library of Wes Callihan, with a glimpse of the GBWW:

ATR Review - Adler's Great Ideas Program, 10 volume set
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF7N97_7Gd4

A Tour of Wes Callihan's Personal Library
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E8PGchwuGA

>123 ironjaw: If you respect Wes Callihan and are interested in diving deeper into a classical education have a look at Roman Roads. It is specifically designed for home schooling parents who are after a classical education for their high school kids. Wes is behind a great deal of it. It’s essentially a guided deep dive.

https://romanroadsmedia.com/old-western-culture

>124 Sorion:

Now that is amazing. I might just pick up the entire DVD programme. I like his style. He is so comfortable to watch that I could spend an entire day just listening to him. I don’t know about you but recently I don’t trust streaming and would rather have the physical DVDs. He is so right about the Kindle.

>125 ironjaw: If you do end up purchasing that please provide some updates. I've been hemming and hawing on it for a while now and would love an actual owners opinion. My kids actually attend a classical Christian school so this series is right up our alley if well done.

>126 Sorion: I will do so, if I go ahead with it.

On another update, I purchased two volumes 1968 and 1969 The Great Ideas Today with dust jackets (I was curious about the dust jackets as most books are sans dust jackets) from a local seller in the UK that were quite inexpensive, with sadly, an unfortunate outcome:

The seller did not reinforce the corners for shipping and only wrapped both books in one thin layer of bubble wrap and brown packing paper.



To my surprise, this was not described on the listing, there seems to be mould growing. I've already given a neutral feedback but have not raised a complaint (should have now that I think about it). Oh well, that £10 out the drain.



I was wondering what can be done to save the book. I've also asked at the Book Care and Repair forum to see what they advise, but this is just so disappointing as I ordered these to get a feel of what type of books these are. I think it would probably be better to order a larger set, maybe even a complete set so the seller at least can pack it into a box, though the only problem is that most sets and books are available in the US.

>109 ironjaw: Sorry, I missed your comment. Below is a photo of a neighbor with what was left of a brick home. The front entry door step is still seen but some of the foundation was ripped up under the 206 mph winds. Our own house was lifted and imploded as a total loss. Volunteers helped to place large heavy tarps over the remaining house frame thus saving most books from heavy rain that followed.
The Great Ideas set is an thoughtful selection for classical self-study and a companion guide for The Great Books themselves. The Great Books themselves just have a very brief basic introduction to each book. I have found the full set to be better than the Harvard Classics series.

>127 ironjaw: It looks to me like you will need a bookbinder to appraise these. They might be able to trim and shave the page edges to remove the mould. The text block will need to be detached for this and the volumes rebound. The spine looks broken on one of the volumes anyway, so rebinding is I think a necessity. Unfortunately this could set you back a few hundred pounds per volume. If you want it done I can recommend the Wyvern Bindery in London. They are very professional and their prices reasonable compared to other binders - but still not exactly cheap. Otherwise, it might be cheaper to write these volumes off and look for a better set. That’s what I would do, unless the books are rare. It’s just not worth the cost. You can probably pick up a full set in much better condition somewhere far cheaper than the cost of rebinding.

There may be other, cheaper interventions that can be used to save these. If there are, they will certainly know on the Book Care and Repair forum.

>128 Forthwith: I am so sorry to hear this. My deepest and sincere heartfelt thoughts go to you and your neighbours. That must be an awful experience to go through. I cannot imagine such, living in quite security in the UK, and I feels ashamed to complain and seek yonder foreign undisclosed tropical islands and eternal sun and tax friendly jurisdictions, and I cannot imagine what my mind would be going through after losing my books. Every-time a book is lost that's one less physical tome of knowledge in existence. My heart weeps.

>129 Quicksilver66: David, thanks. These are cheaper volumes of The Great Ideas Today set by Britannica, that can be bought quite inexpensively, though quite rare in the UK. US shipping cost is just something I shall have to bear if I choose to go ahead and find a complete set from 1961 to 1998. On another note, I am not even sure on how to catalogue this as a set or individually on LT. It's quite confusing.

>129 Quicksilver66:

David. Although not a pretty binding-wise, there's an 11th edition Britannica available at an unbelievable starting bid price on ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324579658636



No affiliation with seller.

>131 ironjaw: That’s a good bargain, assuming they go for that price. Hmmmm....very tempting.

>132 Quicksilver66: It is indeed. But I can't tell from the picture the condition of the books so might be a good idea to get in touch with the seller

>133 ironjaw: Yes. Some of the spines look a bit mottled.

>131 ironjaw: The description says: "Due to weight of this set, buyer must collect. Cash only on collection".

>135 Lukas1990: Although, bizarrely, the listing also says that PayPal and the usual card payments are accepted, with a £50 charge for Royal Mail 1st class. The "postage and payment" tab then lists both payment and collection/delivery options. Odd!

>126 Sorion: I just wanted to update you that I went ahead and purchased the entire Old Western Culture program. I chose the digital/streaming option instead of the DVD and physical books. If anyone follows Roman Roads Media and their Christmas newsletter Digresssio there was a generous 35% offer discount voucher to any program. Luckily, due to an IT issue they extended their offer in January so you could try to write to customer service and ask if they could extend it for you. I’ll update you all again once my niece Isabella and I have ventured deeper into the program.

Just to let everyone know that there’s a wonderful collection of the 11th edition of Britannica in what seems like a leather binding including a cabinet listed for £1500 on eBay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Encyclopaedia-Britannica-Rare-11th-Edition-/115303134...

No affiliation with seller

I think the additional 3 volumes at the end (29 volumes is the 11th) is the 12th edition with a total of 32 volumes