The Penny Cyclopaedia Of The Society For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge (14 vols.)
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: N/A
Pages: Good
Condition remarks: fragile and in poor-to-fair antiquarian condition. Spines: Cracked, rubbed and chipped, with splits and loss at the head and tail of several volumes. Lettering is faded or worn on some, but most volume numbers and ranges remain legible. Vol. IX: Spine missing entirely, exposing the text block and binding structure. Boards: Rubbed, scuffed and worn, with bumped and frayed corners and edge wear.
Before Wikipedia, before the internet, before the modern encyclopedia as we know it, there was The Penny Cyclopaedia — a monumental Victorian publishing achievement that sought to place the sum of human knowledge into the hands of the common man. Produced by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge and published in weekly penny installments by Charles Knight between 1833 and 1843. The Penny Cyclopaedia stands as a landmark of the Victorian reform movement, embodying a radical democratic ideal: that education and knowledge were not the exclusive preserve of the wealthy elite. Its contributors included some of the most distinguished minds of the 19th century, and its clear, authoritative prose set the standard for popular reference literature for decades to come. This rare surviving set — presenting volumes I through IX, XI, XXI-XXII, XXIV, & XXV in their original bindings — is a remarkable artifact of intellectual history, one that invites the curious reader to ask: what would the great thinkers of the 1830s most want us to know?
Author: Society For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge
Format: Hardback
Published: 1833, Charles Knight
Genre: Reference & language
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: N/A
Pages: Good
Condition remarks: fragile and in poor-to-fair antiquarian condition. Spines: Cracked, rubbed and chipped, with splits and loss at the head and tail of several volumes. Lettering is faded or worn on some, but most volume numbers and ranges remain legible. Vol. IX: Spine missing entirely, exposing the text block and binding structure. Boards: Rubbed, scuffed and worn, with bumped and frayed corners and edge wear.
Before Wikipedia, before the internet, before the modern encyclopedia as we know it, there was The Penny Cyclopaedia — a monumental Victorian publishing achievement that sought to place the sum of human knowledge into the hands of the common man. Produced by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge and published in weekly penny installments by Charles Knight between 1833 and 1843. The Penny Cyclopaedia stands as a landmark of the Victorian reform movement, embodying a radical democratic ideal: that education and knowledge were not the exclusive preserve of the wealthy elite. Its contributors included some of the most distinguished minds of the 19th century, and its clear, authoritative prose set the standard for popular reference literature for decades to come. This rare surviving set — presenting volumes I through IX, XI, XXI-XXII, XXIV, & XXV in their original bindings — is a remarkable artifact of intellectual history, one that invites the curious reader to ask: what would the great thinkers of the 1830s most want us to know?