A New and General Biographical Dictionary; containing An Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and Writings of the Most Eminent Persons In every Nation.

OSBORNE, Thomas

Edité par T. Osborne et al., London, 1766

A propos de cet article

Eleven volumes, octavo; a most handsome set in contemporary speckled calf. This ambitious work sets out to list the most famous and infamous individuals encountered in the histories and legends of all nations. Volume one begins with Aaron, the brother of Moses from the Old Testament; so begins a bewildering array of Oxford dons, saints, explorers and inventors, chosen and sketched with a view towards improving the reader by educative example. Osborne's dictionary was a direct ancestor to the massive reference projects of the 19th century. It was revised and expanded multiple times (most notably by Alexander Chalmers in the early 1800s), eventually growing from 11 volumes to 32. It served as the primary blueprint for what would eventually become the Dictionary of National Biography. It is worth noting that while Thomas Osborne was the publisher, the work was a collaborative effort by several "Men of Letters," including William Sellers and John Heath. In the 18th-century book trade, the publisher (or "bookseller") often had their name most prominently associated with the "brand" of the book. . Regular preliminary foxing of some volumes.

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Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: A New and General Biographical Dictionary; containing An Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and Writings of the Most Eminent Persons In every Nation.
• Éditeur: T. Osborne et al., London
• Date de parution: 1766
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