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The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Third Edition (1797) is an 18-volume reference work, an edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopedia's earliest period as a two-man operation initiated by Colin Macfarquhar and Andrew Bell, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Most of the editing was done by Macfarquhar, and all the copperplates were created by Bell. ==History of the edition== The third edition was produced between 1788 and 1797. Colin Macfarquhar, the editor of volumes 1 - 12, up to "Mysteries," died in 1793, age 48, of "mental exhaustion". His heirs were bought out by Bell, who became sole owner of Britannica. Bell hired George Gleig, later Bishop Gleig of Brechin (consecrated 30 October 1808), to carry on the job as editor for the remainder of the third edition. James Thomson worked with Gleig on the editorial side. Gleig then also edited the 1801 and 1803 supplements. The third edition was published as 300 weekly numbers (1 shilling apiece); these numbers were collected and bound in 30 parts (10 shilling, sixpence each) and finally in 18 volumes with 14,579 pages and 542 plates. The third edition established the foundation of the ''Britannica'' as an important and definitive reference work for much of the next two centuries. With nearly double the scope of the 2nd edition, Macfarquhar's encyclopedic vision was finally realized. This edition was also very profitable, yielding £42,000 profit on the sale of about 10,000 copies. The 3rd edition began the tradition (continued to the present) of dedicating the ''Britannica'' to the reigning British monarch, then King George III; describing him as "the Father of Your People, and enlightened Patron of Arts, Sciences and Literature", Gleig wished Like the second edition, the volumes were written over a long period, from volume 1 in 1788 to volume 18 in 1797. Unlike the second edition, the title pages were not printed with their volumes but were printed and sent to subscribers when the set was complete, and dated the year of completion. All volumes of the 3rd edition have title pages dated 1797. The encyclopedia continued to be printed, in complete sets, for many years, with all the volumes still dated 1797. In addition to the legitimate sets printed in Edinburgh, pirated sets were being printed in Dublin by James Moore and Philadelphia by Thomas Dobson. In Edinburgh, 10,000 complete sets were printed, according to Robert Kerr〔Robert Kerr, ''Memoirs of the Life, Writings and Correspondence of the Late Mr William Smellie'' (1811) i. 364–5.〕 or 13,000 copies according to Constable. In addition, there were 2,000 copies of ''Dobson''s and an unknown number by Moore.〔Archibald Constable, "Memoirs," ii. 312, this quote and reference itself were taken from the 11th edition of ''Britannica'' in the article "Encyclopedia."〕 By contrast, only 1,500 copies of the second edition were printed, all unbound.〔Kogan, "The Great EB, "The Story of ''Encyclopedia Britannica''," page 21.〕 The quality of the printing appears better than in previous editions. Some printings of the Third edition contain 20 volumes; the first 18 are text, and volumes 19 and 20 are the 500+ copperplates and maps. Other printings are 18 volumes with all the copperplates and maps interspersed throughout at their proper places. In 1797, Fath Ali Shah was given a complete set of the ''Britannicas 3rd edition, which he read completely; after this feat, he extended his royal title to include "Most Formidable Lord and Master of the Encyclopædia Britannica". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Encyclopædia Britannica Third Edition」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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