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Enclyclopædia Britannica (page 1/3)

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[picture: Front Cover of the 1770 Encylopædia Britannica]

Some of the copper-plate engravings by Andrew Bell that appeared in the first edition of the “Enclyclopædia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts and sciences, compiled upon a new plan, in which The different Sciences and Arts are digested into distinct Treatises or Systems; amd The various Technical Terms, &c. are explained as they occur in the order of the Alphabet.”

I have a facsimile of this edition. The original was issued serially (as was common at the time) in sections called “numbers” from 1768 to 1771. It was created by Andrew Bell, an engraver, and William Smellie who edited many of the articles; it was printed by Colin Macfarquhar.

Title: Enclyclopædia Britannica

Author: Bell, Andrew

City: Edinburgh

Date: 1771

Total items: 15

Out of copyright (called public domain in the USA), hence royalty-free for all purposes usage credit requested, or as marked.

Some sample images

[picture: Plate XLIII.---Astronomy.]

Plate XLIII.—Astronomy.

This full-page copper plate engraving contains a number of diagrams for the article on astronomy; I will post them as separate images on request. [more...] [$]

[picture: Plate XCIX.---Hydrostatics.---Fig. 1. A quadruple pump-mill for raising water.]

Plate XCIX.—Hydrostatics.—Fig. 1. A quadruple pump-mill for raising water.

The height of modern technology in 1771: a super-efficient pump powered by a water wheel! [more...] [$]

[picture: Plate XLIII.---Astronomy.---Fig. 3.]

Plate XLIII.—Astronomy.—Fig. 3.

This diagram shows how (and why) the moon appears to grow and shrink at different times of the month. [more...] [$]

[picture: Plate XLIII.---Astronomy.---Fig. 2.]

Plate XLIII.—Astronomy.—Fig. 2.

Figure 2, showing the Winter Solstice on December 22nd.

The full plate [$]


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Some of the copper-plate engravings by Andrew Bell that appeared in the first edition of the “Enclyclopædia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts and sciences, compiled upon a new plan, in which The different Sciences and Arts are digested into distinct Treatises or Systems; amd The various Technical Terms, &c. are explained as they occur in the order of the Alphabet.”

I have a facsimile of this edition. The original was issued serially (as was common at the time) in sections called “numbers” from 1768 to 1771. It was created by Andrew Bell, an engraver, and William Smellie who edited many of the articles; it was printed by Colin Macfarquhar.


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