December 6

On the 6th in 1768 Scotsmen Colin Macfarquhar, a printer, and Andrew Bell[i], an engraver, began publishing the first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica[ii]. The editor was William Smellie[iii] (what a horrid last name). When completed in 1771 the first full edition consisted of 2,391 pages divided into three volumes. Time has been kind to the Britannica and today there are, in addition to the print edition, online and CD versions. The CD version contains over 55 million words. In spite of the dramatic digital expansion of the books, for collectors the 1911 edition is the one to have. For some reason the 1911 is the 1957 Fender Stratocaster of books.

[i] Bell was only 4’ 6” tall.
[ii] The first edition of the encyclopedia was sold in weekly installments between 1768 and 1771.
[iii] Smellie had inserted many salacious engravings in the first edition. These were promptly censored by King George III when he learned of it.