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This site is dedicated, in part, to the Cyclopaedia of Ephraim Chambers as well as other spin off publications and Encyclopaedias that were directly influenced or modeled after Chambers's original Cyclopaedia or Universal Dictionary. Here I plan to collect all the available information as concerns the Cyclopaedia, it's publication and the various editions, as well as presenting a complete range of images. I have tracked down photographs of existing copies and present the details of those copies that are currently available for purchase. Also I have collected the sketchy details of the life of Ephraim Chambers, as well as notes about those who were associated with his work, principally John Senex and Abraham Rees. This site will be of special interest to collectors who want to find exact information concerning specific editions, and the plates that go with each, as well as prices... The GREAT NEWS is that the University of Wisconsin has now fully digitalized the 1728 First Edition! You now no longer need to spend thousands of dollars to have this marvel in your own home, you can find the whole thing online and it's FREE! I know I can hardly believe it myself. The pages are available in image and TEXT form! This means you can now search the entire contents of the Cyclopaedia for any word or phrase... what a great idea, what a fantastic luxury, the electronic age is at last bearing some worthwhile fruit. |
| The FRONTISPIECE- Introduction |
| Online Cyclopaedias Cyclopaedias for sale! |
| Chambers - Notes |
| John Senex - Notes |
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John Senex - Timeline and Publications John Seller - Notes and Publications |
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John Harris - Lexicon Technicum - 1704 first edition John Harris - Lexicon Technicum - 1708 second edition (Chambers was "seized by the idea that Harris's Lexicon needed bringing up to date") |
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John Hill - BRITISH HERBAL - 1756 ("Sir" John Hill was one of the editors of the 1753 Supplement to Chambers's Cyclopaedia) |
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Pierre Bayle's - DICTIONNAIRE HISTORIQUE ET CRITIQUE - 1734 ("A good French scholar, he (Chambers) adapted Moreri and Bayle to the common-sense climate of the English Enlightenment.") |
updated 20/01/23