Editing Encyclopedia (section)

== Printed encyclopedias ==
Before the advent of the printing press, encyclopedic works were all hand-copied and thus rarely available, beyond wealthy patrons or monastic men of learning: they were expensive, and usually written for those extending knowledge rather than those using it. The introduction of [[printing]] from Asia allowed a wider diffusion of encyclopedias and every scholar could have his or her copy. [[Nuremberg Chronicle]] from 1493 is one of the best-documented early printed books—an [[incunabulum]]—and one of the first to successfully integrate illustrations and text. Both Latin and German editions were printed by [[Anton Koberger]] in Nuremberg.<ref>Cambridge Digital Library, University of Cambridge, http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PR-INC-00000-A-00007-00002-00888/1 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206053438/http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PR-INC-00000-A-00007-00002-00888/1|date=2012-12-06}}</ref>The ''[[De expetendis et fugiendis rebus]]'' by [[Giorgio Valla]] was posthumously printed in 1501 by [[Aldo Manuzio]] in [[Venice]]. This work followed the traditional scheme of liberal arts. However, Valla added the translation of ancient Greek works on mathematics (firstly by [[Archimedes]]), newly discovered and translated. The ''Margarita Philosophica'' by [[Gregor Reisch]], printed in 1503, was a complete encyclopedia explaining the [[seven liberal arts]].

Financial, commercial, legal, and intellectual factors changed the size of encyclopedias. Middle classes had more time to read and encyclopedias helped them to learn more. Publishers wanted to increase their output so some countries like Germany started selling books missing alphabetical sections, to publish faster. Also, publishers could not afford all the resources by themselves, so multiple publishers would come together with their resources to create better encyclopedias. Later, rivalry grew, causing copyright to occur due to weak underdeveloped laws.
[[John Harris (writer)|John Harris]] is often credited with introducing the now-familiar alphabetic format in 1704 with his English ''Lexicon Technicum: Or, A Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Sciences: Explaining not only the Terms of Art, but the Arts Themselves'' – to give its full title. Organized alphabetically, its content does indeed contain an explanation not merely of the terms used in the arts and sciences, but of the arts and sciences themselves. [[Isaac Newton|Sir Isaac Newton]] contributed his only published work on chemistry to the second volume of 1710.

=== ''Encyclopédie'' ===
{{Quote box|Indeed, the purpose of an encyclopedia is to collect knowledge disseminated around the globe; to set forth its general system to the men with whom we live, and transmit it to those who will come after us, so that the work of preceding centuries will not become useless to the centuries to come; and so that our offspring, becoming better instructed, will at the same time become more virtuous and happy, and that we should not die without having rendered a service to the human race in the future years to come.|[[Denis Diderot|Diderot]]<ref>Denis Diderot; Jean le Rond d'Alembert. [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=did;cc=did;idno=did2222.0000.004;rgn=main;view=text ''Encyclopédie'']. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429032124/http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=did;cc=did;idno=did2222.0000.004;rgn=main;view=text |date=April 29, 2011}}. University of Michigan Library: Scholarly Publishing Office and DLXS. Retrieved on: November 17, 2007.</ref>|width=40%}}{{excerpt|Encyclopédie|only=paragraphs|templates=-See Wiktionary}}

=== ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ===
{{excerpt|Encyclopædia Britannica|only=paragraphs}}

=== ''Brockhaus Enzyklopädie'' ===
{{excerpt|Brockhaus Enzyklopädie|only=paragraphs}}

===Encyclopedias in the United States===
In the United States, the 1950s and 1960s saw the introduction of several large popular encyclopedias, often sold on installment plans. The best known of these were ''[[World Book]]'' and ''[[Funk and Wagnalls]]''. As many as 90% were sold [[door to door]].<ref name="chicago">{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-flash-encyclopedia-world-book-britannica-1210-20171205-story.html |title=Long before Google, there was the encyclopedia |last=Grossman |first=Ron |date=December 7, 2017 |website=Chicago Tribune |access-date=December 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022091053/https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-flash-encyclopedia-world-book-britannica-1210-20171205-story.html |archive-date=October 22, 2022}}</ref> Jack Lynch says in his book ''[[You Could Look It Up]]'' that encyclopedia salespeople were so common that they became the butt of jokes. He describes their sales pitch saying, "They were selling not books but a lifestyle, a future, a promise of social mobility." A 1961 ''World Book'' ad said, "You are holding your family's future in your hands right now," while showing a feminine hand holding an order form.<ref>{{cite web |last=Onion |first=Rebecca |date=June 3, 2016 |title=How Two Artists Turn Old Encyclopedias Into Beautiful, Melancholy Art |website=Slate |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/06/how-two-artists-turn-old-encyclopedias-into-beautiful-melancholy-art.html |access-date=September 23, 2019 |archive-date=September 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923122858/https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/06/how-two-artists-turn-old-encyclopedias-into-beautiful-melancholy-art.html |url-status=live}}</ref> As of the 1990s, two of the most prominent encyclopedias published in the United States were ''[[Collier's Encyclopedia]]'' and ''[[Encyclopedia Americana]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kister |first=K. F. |url=https://archive.org/details/kistersbestencyc00kist |title=Kister's Best Encyclopedias: A Comparative Guide to General and Specialized Encyclopedias |date=1994 |publisher=Oryx Press |isbn=0-89774-744-5 |edition=2nd |location=Phoenix, Arizona |pages=23 |author-link=Kenneth Kister}}</ref>