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The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (properly spelled with æ , the ae- Ligature ) was first published in 1768 – 1771 as ''Encyclopædia Britannica, or, A dictionary of arts and sciences, compiled upon a new plan.'' The ''Britannica'' was an important early English-language general Encyclopedia and is still regarded as one of the most important reference books in the English language. It is published today by Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. , a privately held company. From the late 18th Century to the early 20th Century , the ''Britannica'''s articles were often judged by many as the foremost authority on a topic, and sometimes included new research or theory intended for a scholarly audience. During this era, the ''Britannica'' gained its reputation and had a unique position in English-speaking culture. The role of the Encyclopedia changed substantially in the early 20th century since it wasn't economically viable anymore to strive to capture the cutting edge of human knowledge in a sizeable print set, and this is reflected in the editions of the Britannica from the eleventh edition onward. Encyclopedias have become more of a general reference used by a wider audience, with shorter, more readable articles. They no longer serve as the primary authoritative reference on a topic; in the modern era, a wide range of academic journals, textbooks, specialized publications and electronic resources have displaced the encyclopedia. Today the ''Britannica'' has evolved primarily into electronic versions available on CD-ROM and via the World Wide Web . It has survived fierce competition from an ever-increasing number of alternative information sources. The articles in the ''Britannica'' are commonly considered accurate, reliable, and well-written, and it continues to be widely consulted as a work of general reference. HISTORY A product of the Scottish Enlightenment , the ''Britannica'' was originally published in Edinburgh in the second-half of the 18th century. The first ''Britannica'' was the brainchild of the Scots Colin Macfarquhar , a bookseller and printer, and Andrew Bell , an engraver, who published the reference work Pseudonymously as a "Society of Gentlemen." The editor was scholar William Smellie , then twenty-eight years old, who was offered £ 200 to produce the Encyclopaedia in 100 parts and three volumes. The first part appeared in December 1768, priced six Pence . By 1771 , the Encyclopedia was complete with 2,391 pages and 160 engraved illustrations, and an estimated 3,000 copies were sold. It consisted of three equally sized volumes covering A-B, C-L and M-Z.
Owing to the success of the first edition, a more ambitious second edition followed. This time Smellie declined as editor, and Macfarquhar took over the role himself, aided by James Tytler . The second edition was eventually published 1777 – 1784 in ten volumes with 8,595 pages.
However, it was the third edition, published 1788–1797 and edited by Macfarquhar and after his death by George Gleig , which finally realized the encyclopedic vision. Not only broader in scope, with 18 volumes plus a two volume supplement totalling over 16,000 pages, the third edition was also the first to include articles written specifically for the ''Britannica'' by experts and academics, many recruited by Gleig. The third edition established the foundation of the ''Britannica'' as an important, and in many cases the definitive, reference on many topics for much of the next century. In general, the major articles in the editions through the tenth edition were far longer and more scholarly than the articles in modern encyclopedias. For an example, see ELIOHS' online version of the article History from the third edition (in the External Links section below). Nineteenth century editions of the ''Britannica'' regularly included notable new or major works from its authors. The extraordinary French '' Encyclopédie '' is widely considered to have inspired the publication of the ''Britannica.'' But unlike the '' Encyclopédie ,'' the ''Britannica'' was an extremely conservative publication. Later editions were usually dedicated to the reigning Monarch . In dedicating the supplement to the third edition to the King, Gleig wrote,
, John Stuart Mill , Thomas Malthus , David Ricardo , Walter Scott , and Thomas Young , whose article on Egypt included the translation of the Hieroglyphics on the Rosetta Stone . In the late 1820s, rights to the ''Britannica'' were acquired by the Edinburgh publishing firm of Adam & Charles Black, who published the seventh and eighth editions, and included new chapters, such as 'Architecture' by William Hosking . The landmark ninth edition, often called the Scholar's edition, was published from 1875 to 1889. The ninth edition included numerous in-depth, scholarly articles by pre-eminent authors, and therefore is considered by some to mark the high point in the history of English-language encyclopedias. A & C Black moved to London in 1895. The ''Britannica'' later became associated with '' The Times '' newspaper, and was sold in 1901 . The tenth edition of eleven volumes including map and index volumes was issued in effect as a large supplement to the ninth edition. The American Horace Everett Hooper was publisher from 1897 to 1922 . From 1909 , and for the eleventh edition, the publication became associated with the University Of Cambridge , in England . The substantially rewritten eleventh edition of 1910 – 1911 is also a classic edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, but reflected the new goals of its new owners. The edition balances scholarly accuracy and scope with a readability intended to gain a wider audience and increased sales, using less lengthy but still thorough articles. Sometimes called the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica , this edition is available in the Public Domain . The 11th edition was the first edition to be published substantially at one time, instead of volume by volume. The complete text is freely available online . The Trademark and publication rights were sold after the 11th edition to Sears Roebuck and it moved to Chicago , Illinois , United States . The 12th and 13th editions each took the form of a three volume supplement or update, meant to be used in conjunction with the 11th edition. The 14th edition of 1929 marked a major shift, with fewer volumes and shorter articles, meant to be more accessible as a reference to a wider range of readers. However, the 14th edition was criticised by priest-turned-atheist Joseph McCabe , who claimed that it had been stripped of unfavourable content about the Catholic Church.1 Sears Roebuck offered the rights to the ''Britannica'' as a gift to the University Of Chicago in 1941. William Benton figured as publisher from 1943 to his death in 1973 , followed by his widow Helen Hemingway Benton until her own death in 1974 . In January 1996 , the ''Britannica'' was purchased by billionaire Swiss financier Jacob Safra . In October 2002 , '' Esquire '' editor A.J. Jacobs set out to read all 33,000 pages of the ''Britannica''. He chronicled this quest for knowledge in the 2004 book ''The Know-It-All'' (see References below for full citation). CD-ROM EDITION AND BRITANNICA ONLINE ]] In the 1980s , Microsoft approached Britannica Inc. to collaborate on a CD-ROM encyclopedia. Britannica Inc., feeling that they had control of the market and showing strong profits (sales of the complete ''Britannica'' were priced between $ 1,500 and $2,200), turned Microsoft down. Britannica Inc.'s senior management viewed their product as a luxury brand with an impeccable reputation handed down from generation to generation. They did not believe that a CD-ROM could adequately compete or supplement their business. In turn, Microsoft used content from '' Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia '' to create what is now known as '' Encarta ''. In 1990 , the ''Britannica's'' sales reached all-time high of $650 million. But ''Encarta'', released in 1993 , became a software staple with almost every computer purchase and the ''Britannica's'' market share plummeted. Britannica Inc. countered by offering a CD-ROM version of their product, although a CD-ROM could not generate $500 to $600 in sales commissions as the print version did. Britannica Inc. decided on charging $995 for customers looking to purchase only the CD-ROM while at the same time bundling a free disc with the print version. Britannica Inc. hoped that including the CD-ROM would entice buyers to stay with the brand. In , Britannica Inc. was in serious trouble and was purchased by Swiss financier Jacob Safra for a fraction of its book value - a mere $135 million. Since then Safra has introduced massive price-cutting measures in an effort to compete with ''Encarta'', even offering the entire reference free of charge for a time (around 18 months, from October 1999 to March 2001 ) on the Internet . Former editor-in-chief Robert McHenry believes that Britannica failed to exploit its early advantages in the market for electronic encyclopedias. Britannica had, for example, published the first Multimedia encyclopedia (''Compton's MultiMedia Encyclopedia'') as early as 1989, but did not launch ''Britannica CD'' until 1994, one year after Microsoft launched their ''Encarta'' encyclopedia. McHenry believes these failures were due to a reluctance amongst senior management to fully embrace new technology, caused largely by the overriding influence of the sales staff and management. The sales personnel earned commissions from door-to-door selling of the print encyclopedias, which McHenry believes led to decisions about the distribution and pricing of the electronic products, being driven by the desires of the sales personnel, rather than market conditions and customer expectations.2 COMPETITION Today, one of the biggest challenges to the ''Britannica'' is the ease with which people can find information online. Many people simply prefer to find information with the help of a Search Engine , such as Google , Yahoo! or Ask.com . While the information available on the internet is typically not as structured and well-vetted as that contained in ''Britannica'', this is (partially) compensated for by convenience and the sheer volume of information typically available on any subject. Smart searching algorithms, such as Page Rank Algorithm used by Google , also assists a smart user to quickly narrow down their investigation to relevant pages. Online alternatives to the ''Britannica'' include Wikipedia , a Web -based free-content encyclopedia. Wikipedia is free to use; although the print and electronic versions of ''Britannica'' are available at libraries for checkout (either directly or through ILL ) and can be accessed from home using some library web sites, in addition to being available for purchase. | ||
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