The First Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica featured 160 copperplate illustrations engraved by Andrew Bell. Some illustrations were shocking to some readers, such as the three pages depicting female pelvises and fetuses in the midwifery article; King George III commanded that these pages be ripped from every copy. [1]
The first edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, the oldest English-language general encyclopedia was published in parts, commencing on 10 December 1768.
The inception and production of the encyclopedia can be traced back to 18th-century Scotland and the minds of remarkable scholar, Colin Macfarquhar, and printer and engraver, Andrew Bell. Macfarquhar and Bell aimed to produce an English-language reference volume that would cater to a broad audience covering a wide range of subjects from the sciences and humanities to practical arts and crafts. Their collaboration marked the beginning of a project that would eventually evolve into one of the most renowned encyclopedias in the world.
The first edition involved numerous contributors, including scholars, scientists, and writers. The articles were written in a clear and concise style to make the information accessible to a diverse readership. Needing an editor, Macfarquhar and Bell chose 28-year-old William Smellie, a Scottish naturalist and editor, who was offered 200 pounds to produce the encyclopedia in 100 parts called “numbers”, which were later bound into three volumes. The first number appeared on 10 December 1768 in Edinburgh, priced sixpence. By releasing the numbers in weekly instalments, the Britannica was completed in 1771, having 2,391 pages. The numbers were eventually bound in three equally sized volumes and an estimated 3,000 sets were eventually sold.
The completion of the first edition marked the beginning of a long and influential legacy. Despite financial challenges and initial scepticism, the Encyclopedia Britannica gained recognition for its intellectual rigor and became a cornerstone of knowledge dissemination. Over the years, subsequent editions continued to build upon the foundation laid by Macfarquhar, Bell, and their collaborators, making the Encyclopedia Britannica a timeless resource that has endured for centuries.
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