THE FORM OF ENCYCLOPEDIAS.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Sin,—Your article on the " Encyclopmdia Britannica," in the Spectator of December 15th, contains a suggestion that it might be possible to issue an edition of that great work "in a hundred instead of twenty-four volumes,—an edition of a size which could be lifted without a back-ache, and read while sitting in a chair." Your reviewer, while making this sug- gestion, supposes that it will be "laughed at for trade reasons," and implies that it is "an ideal, not a possibility." In my ignorance of the "trade," I confess that I do not see any reason why such an edition should not be issued ; and I am sure that I, for one, would at once subscribe to it, though I should never think of buying the ponderous tomes of the present one. I am convinced that such an edition would be welcomed by very many men who, like myself, would be only too glad to possess the Ency- clopedia, and would willingly make some sacrifice to obtain it, but who are frightened by the unwieldy bulk of the present edition, which is only fitted for public reference libraries, or the houses of rich men who have special rooms and practically unlimited space for their books. It is in the hope of leading to some public expression of a widespread. desire for a handy and readable edition of this monumental work that I venture to address yon. It would surely be easy, at the proper moment, to invite subscriptions to such an edition, which might be carried out if the number of sub- scribers proved sufficient to insure a good profit.—I am,.
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