Encyclopaedia ; Or, a Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature. 21 Volumes Set with Supplement

Philadelphia : Printed by Thomas Dobson, 1798-01-01. Hardcover. Very Good. 21 Volumes. Quarto. 595 of 596 plates present. Bound in full contemporary full leather. Gilt spine. Good bindings and covers. Wear to extremities. Most volumes lacking spine labels. Chipping and loss to head and tail of spines. Boards starting. Front boards detached on Volumes 1, 5, 9, 10 & 18. Plate 365 lacking. Plate 228 loose, but present. In Vol. IX: p 337-344 are misbound. Scattered foxing and toning to pages. Tanned pages. Evans 33676-33693; Sabin 22555. <br> Dobson's Encyclopaedia was the first encyclopedia issued in the newly independent United States of America, published by Thomas Dobson from 1789-1798. <br> The encyclopedia was a reprint of the contemporary third edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (published 1788-1797), although Dobson's Encyclopaedia was a somewhat longer work in which a few articles were edited for a patriotic American audience. Dobson objected to a British bias he perceived in the Britannica, and resolved to re-edit the Britannica accordingly. He completed his Encyclopaedia in April 1798, a year after the original. It had 16,650 pages, with 595 engraved copperplates, slightly more than the Britannica. In support of Dobson's patriotic initiative, President George Washington subscribed to two sets, to help promote Dobson's endeavor, as well as Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. <bR> In promoting his Encyclopaedia, Dobson conducted an all-out advertising blitz, never before seen in North America, to secure subscriptions; his advertisements appealed strongly to the patriotic pride of Americans and appeared in newspapers, on magazine wrappers, in spare book leaves, and in pamphlets distributed to all the major book-sellers of his day. <br> "From every standpoint the highest achievement in Colonial bookmaking. The whole work, illustrations, type, and paper (and content) shows an achievement of professional craftsmen working together for an enlightened publisher. The first American book on anything like such a scale, Dobson's work marks the end of printing in America as a household craft and the beginning of its (modern) development." Evans 22486. <BR><br> Though Dobson amended and expanded his edition of the 3rd edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, he reprinted the bold article on "Motion", which made the 3rd infamous, in which it erroneously rejected Isaac Newton's theory of gravitation, writing that gravity is caused by the classical element of fire. <br><br> Pagination of set as follows: Vol I: (2), xiv, 799p., frontis, 31 pl.; Vol. II: (2), 799p, (1), 60 pl. (32-91); Vol. III: (2), 806p, 20pl. (92-111); Vol. IV. (2), 793p, 26 pl. (112-137); Vol. V: (2) 807p, (1), 24 pl. (138-161); Vol. VI: (2), 794p, 22 pl. (162-183); Vol. VII: (2), 797p, (1), 38 pl. (184-221); Vol. VIII: (2), 800p, 18 pl. (222-238); Vol. IX: (2), 800p, 31 pl. (239-269); Vol. X: (2), (2), 788p, (1), 22 pl. (270-291); Vol. XI: (2), 814p, 19 pl. (292-310); Vol. XII: (2), 799p, (1), 35 pl. (311-345); Vol. XIII: (2), 799p, (1) 31 pl. of 32 (346-364, 366-377); Vol. XIV: (2), 797p, (1), 16 pl. (378-393); Vol. XV: (2), 799p, (1), 41 pl. (394-434); Vol. XVI: (2), 799p, (1), 12 pl. (435-346), errata; Vol. XVII: (2), 827p, (1), 37 pl. (447-483); Vol. XVIII: (2), 945p, (2), (1), 59 pl. (484-542); Supplement Vol. I: (2), 704p, 26 pl. (1-26), errata; Supplement Vol. II: (2), 734p, 13 pl. (27-40); Supplement Vol. III: (2), 48p, 566p, iv, 14 pl (41-50, I-III). Of total 595 plates, 5 plates are folding, 2 plates are folding maps, and 14 are plates of maps. This is an oversized or heavy book that requires additional postage for international delivery outside of Canada and the US.