ENCYCLOPæDIA AMERICANA.
[figure description] Advertisement.[end figure description]
A NEW EDITION.
A POPULAR DICTIONARY
OF
ARTS, SCIENCES, LITERATURE, HISTORY,
POLITICS AND BIOGRAPHY,
INCLUDING
A COPIOUS COLLECTION OF ORIGINAL ARTICLES
IN
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.
ON THE BASIS OF THE SEVENTH EDITION OF THE GERMAN
CONVERSATIONS-LEXICON.
EDITED BY
FRANCIS LIEBER,
ASSISTED BY
E. WIGGLESWORTH AND T. G. BRADFORD.
PHILADELPHIA:
LEA AND BLANCHARD.
1843.
NOW PUBLISHING,
NOW OFFERED AT HALF THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE,
IN THIRTEEN VOLUMES.
ONE DOLLAR & FIFTY CENTS PER VOL. OF 600 PAGES EACH.
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[figure description] Advertisement.[end figure description]
The publishers invite the attention of those who may not already have possessed themselves of this work,
or may not have had an opportunity to become acquainted with its merits, to the following account of the
original work, upon which it is based, and which is termed by the Edinburgh Review—
THE WORLD-RENOWNED LEIPZIG CONVERSATIONS-LEXICON.
It was intended to supply a want occasioned by the character of the age, in which the sciences, arts, trades,
and the various forms of knowledge and of active life, had become so much extended and diversified, that no
individual engaged in business could become well acquainted with all subjects of general interest; while the
wide diffusion of information rendered such knowledge essential to the character of an accomplished man.
This want, no existing works were adequate to supply. Books treating of particular branches, such as gazetteers,
&c., were too confined in character; while voluminous Encyclopædias were too learned, scientific, and
cumbrous, being usually elaborate treatises, requiring much study or previous acquaintance with the subject
discussed. The conductors of the Conversation-Lexicon endeavoured to select from every branch of knowledge
what was necessary to a well-informed mind, and to give popular views of the more abstruse branches
of learning and science; that their readers might not be incommoded, and doprived of pleasure or improvement,
by ignorance of facts or expressions used in books or conversation. Such a work must obviously be
of great utility to every class of readers. It has been found so much so in Germany, that it is met with everywhere,
among the learned, the lawyers, the military, artists, merchants, mechanics, and men of all stations.
The reader may judge how well it is adapted to its object, from the circumstance, that many editions have
been published, comprising over one hundred thousand copies, and that within a few years it has been
translated into the Swedish, Danish, and Dutch languages, and a French translation is now preparing in Paris.
In the preparation of the American edition, no expense has been spared to secure the ablest assistance, and
the editors have been aided by many gentlemen of distinguished ability.
The American Biography, which is very extensive, has been furnished by Mr. Walsh, who has long paid
particular attention to that branch of our literature, and from materials in the collection of which he has been
engaged for some years. For obvious reasons, the notices of distinguished Americans are confined to deceased
individuals: the European biography contains notices of all distinguished living characters, as well
as those of past times.
The articles on Zoology and the various branches of Natural Science, and those on Chemistry and Mineralogy,
have been prepared expressly for this work by gentlemen distinguished in the several departments.
In relation to the Fine Arts, the work is exceedingly rich. Great attention was given to this in the German
work, and the editors have been anxious to render it, by the necessary additions, as perfect as possible.
To gentlemen of the Bar, the work will be peculiarly valuable, as in cases where legal subjects are treated.
an account is given of English, French, German, and American Law.
“The work will be a valuable possession to every
family or individual that can afford to purchase it;
and we take pleasure, therefore, in extending the
knowledge of its merits.”
—National Intelligencer.
“This work appears to improve as it issues from
the press. The number of able writers who contribute
original matter in all the departments of literature and
science is amply sufficient to give it celebrity and high
character. To men engaged in the active pursuits of
life, whose time is precious, this popular dictionary is
a most valuable and ready mode of reference. It embraces
brief views and sketches of all the late discoveries
in science, and the present condition of literature,
politics, &c. &c. Every merchant's counting-room,
every lawyer's library, every mechanic, every
farmer, ought to possess a copy of this useful and
valuable work.”
—Courier.
“From the specimen which has already been given,
we have no hesitation in saying, that in regard to intelligence,
skill, and faithful diligence, it is a work of
the highest order. We know of no similar publication
that can bear any comparison with it for the rich
variety of valuable information which it condenses
within so small a compas. It is free from all the
narrowness of English prejudice; it contains many
important and interesting details which can be found
in no English production, and is a work which could
be written by none but German scholars, more than
two hundred of whom were employed in the original
compilation.”
—Boston Observer.
“The vast circulation this work has had in Europe,
where it has already been reprinted in four or five languages,
not to speak of the numerous German editions,
of which seven have been published, speaks
loudly in favour of its intrinsic merit, without which
such a celebrity could never have been attained. To
every man engaged in public business, who needs a
correct and ample book of reference on various topics
of science and letters, the Encyclopædia Americana
will be almost invaluable. To individuals obliged
to go to situations where books are neither numerous
nor easily procured, the rich contents of these volumes
will prove a mine which will amply repay its purchaser,
and be with difficulty exhausted; and we recommend
it to their patronage in the full conviction of its
worth. Indeed, it is difficult to say to what class of
readers such a book would not prove useful, nay, almost
indispensable, since it combines a great amount
of valuable matter in small compass, and at moderate
expense, and is in every respect well suited to augment
the reader's stock of ideas, and powers of conversation,
without severely taxing time or fatiguing
attention.”
—Am. Daily Advertiser.
“According to the plan of Dr. Lieber, a desideratum
will be supplied; the substance of contemporary
knowledge will be brought within a small compass;
and the character and uses of a manual will be imparted
to a kind of publication heretofore reserved,
on strong shelves, for occasional reference. By those
who understand the German language, the Conversation-Lexicon
is consulted ten times for one application
to any English Encyclopædia.”
—Nat. Gazetts.
“The editors and publishers should receive the
thanks of the present generation, and the gratitude of
posterity, for being the first to prepare in this language
what deserves to be entitled not the Encyclop
ædia Americana, but the PEOPLE'S LIBRARY.”
—N. Y. Courier and Enquirer.
“To supersede cumbrous Encyclopædias, and put
within the reach of the poorest man a complete library
equal to about forty or fifty good-sized octavos,
embracing every possible subject of interest to the
number of 20,000 in all—provided he can spare either
from his earnings or his extravagancies twenty-five
cents a week, a library so contrived, as to be equally
suited to the learned and unlearned, the mechanic,
the merchant, and the professional man.”
—N. Y.
Courier and Enquirer.
“The high reputation of the contributors to this
work, will not fail to insure it a favourable reception,
and its own merits will do the rest.”
—Silliman's
Journal.
Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851 [1843], Wyandotte, or, The hutted knoll, volume 1 (Lea & Blanchard, Philadelphia) [word count] [eaf073v1].
