NYBROOKLYN-L Archives

From: "Miriam Medina" <>
Subject: [NYBROOKLYN] Dear List-re: Preface:
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2000 21:08:29 -0400

Dear List:
Since I have been and will continue to post historical information taken
from "The New International Encyclopaedia", regarding subjects as Brooklyn,
New York State, NYC, Immigration, newspapers, United States, etc., prior to
1900, it would be appropriate to mention the Preface of this collection, in
the Editor's own words.
Miriam Medina

_____________________________________________________
Source: The New International Encyclopaedia
Copyright: 1902, 1904, 1905
Publishers: Dodd, Mead and Company--New York

PREFACE

The work which is now given to the public after years of diligent
preparation is not a new edition or revision of the International
Cyclopaedia. It is not based upon that or upon any other publication. The
comparatively small portion of text which has been retained unaltered from
the International Cyclopaedia and incorporated in these volumes has been so
retained because it has successfully stood the test of searching criticism,
and because the Editors regard it as satisfying the most exacting
requirements. This, however, is the full extent of the new Encyclopaedia's
obligation to the old. The present work has been planned and executed as a
wholly independent and original undertaking. It represents the practical
knowledge gained from an editorial experience of many years. It embodies the
results derived from a critical study of all the most famous works of
reference which have at any time appeared in Europe or in the United States.
Every encyclopaedia which has secured a lasting hold upon the confidence
of the reading public has necessarily been distinguished by some especial
merit of its own; yet in the case of each existing publication, this
peculiar merit has invariably been offset to a greater or less extent by
some counterbalancing defect. Hence, there has always been discernible a
decided difference of opinion, both among critics and among readers, as to
which one of the standard encyclopaedias best fulfills the proper function
of such a work. The ideal encyclopaedia is one that combines four
attributes:
first, accuracy of statement
second, comprehensiveness of scope
third, lucidity and attractiveness of presentation
fourth, convenience of arrangement.

It therefore seems desirable that, in writing these words of introduction,
the Editors of the NEW INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA should set forth as
briefly, yet as clearly as possible, the manner in which they have
endeavored to insure at least a close approximation to what, in their best
judgment , an ideal encyclopaedia should be.
Since accuracy is very properly regarded as the most essential of all the
attributes of such a publication, the Editors have been at especial pains to
make this work in its several departments fitly representative of modern
scientific scholarship.
In the second place, the endeavor has been made to render this
Encyclopaedia more comprehensive in its scope than any other. The rapid
march of science during the past few years, the new inventions and
discoveries that have been made, the political and social changes that have
been effected, and the multitude of absolutely new interests that have
arisen in almost every department of human activity, have added an immense
mass of topics to the list with which former encyclopaedias have had to
deal. It is believed that all these topics have here received adequate and
accurate attention; while a much greater completeness than is usual will be
found in the treatment of nearly every department. It is desirable to call
special attention to the amount of space that has been given to the subject
of Geography, both physical and political, and to the carefully selected
information relating to municipal organization and the management of public
utilities--information such as has never before been systematically given in
any encyclopaedia published in the English language. Something also should
be said of the fullness and the modern character of the articles bearing
upon the several departments of Biology, Botany, Education, and Psychology,
the Mechanical Arts, Physics, Military and Naval Science, Sociology, and
Biography. As to the last-named subject, it may be said , without fear of
contradiction, that no encyclopaedic reference-book in England or America
contains as titles so many names of men and women; while the information
given under these titles is brought down to the very eve of the publication
of this work. Another department of great interest and value is that which
has to do with what may be called miscellaneous information and which covers
a range of topics not heretofore included in a general encyclopaedia. It
should be noted , too, that the pronunciation of all unusual, technical, or
foreign words has been carefull figured in accordance with a simple phonetic
system, and that their etymology has been systematically traced. This
etymological work has been done with careful regard to the conclusion of the
newest school of philological research, and the facts are set forth as
simply and as clearly as is possible. Care has been taken to supply every
important article with a well-selected bibliography for the guidance of
those who may wish to pursue the subject in all its ramifications; and the
bibliographical material will be found to comprise not only the standard
works, but also special monographs, pamphlets, and papers published by the
various learned societies. The Encyclopaedia as a whole, then , is in
reality a library whose books are so divided and arranged as to make the
information which they afford immediately and conveniently accessible to the
reader. It is this completeness which justifies the title "International" in
its application to this work. The word is one which possesses a new
significance to Americans at the present time, when our country has shaken
off its former isolation, and has developed so many points of contact,
political and commercial , with the other nations of the earth. Yet while
the work is international, it is international from an American point of
view, and it very naturally gives the fullest treatment to those topics
which are if immediate and vital interest to Americans.
With regard to the third essential--lucidity and attractiveness of
presentation --the recognition of its value which has been expressed above,
will afford, perhaps, a clue to what the Editors have endeavored to
accomplish. There exists a kind of writing which has become so stereotyped
as to be well known to every one, and which might be fittingly described as
the encyclopaedic style. It is in literature what a monotone is in
music--utterly devoid of individuality, of variety, and of interest. It
sets forth every possible subject in the same dull way and robs the most
living themes of their vitality. This style has even acquired, by the
influence of tradition, a pseudo-sanctity, until many persons have become
convinced that an encyclopaedia article must inherently and inevitably be a
synonym for dullness. This view the editors are very far from entertaining,
or from desiring to perpetuate; and so the principal contributors have been
selected not only for their special knowledge, but also for their possession
of a clear attractive style; and in those articles of which the subjects
lend themselves to a distinctly literary treatment, the authors have been
expected to write with the same freedom and with the same personal touch as
would characterize their contributions to any literary publication of a high
class. In every detail the endeavor has been made to compact really valuable
information instead of loosely assorted and often unrelated facts. In short,
the aim has been consistently to present each subject not only so as to
inform, but likewise so as to attract and entertain.
The fourth essential of a useful encyclopaedia is found in the practical
convenience with which it may be consulted. This practical convenience has
been studied very carefully both by the Editors and by the contributors with
the object of enabling a reader to find, with the least possible expenditure
of time and patience, the information of which he is in need. This end has
been attained , first by giving a conspectus of each topic as a whole;
second, by treating the same topic more in detail under all the natural
divisions into which it falls; and finally, by working out a system of
cross-references which may serve as guides from each topic to the others
which supplement it and provide the collateral information necessary to its
fullest understanding.
It is thought that the illustrations of every kind will be found superior
to anything hitherto attempted in any encyclopaedia. These illustrations
have not been gathered together in a haphazard fashion and merely for the
purpose of providing the volumes with a certain number of attractive
pictures; but they were suggested and selected by the various contributors,
or prepared with their cooperation. In many cases much assistance was
derived rom the Governmental Departments in Washington, where all the plates
relating to Natural History were examined and verified by experts in the
Government's employ.
The Editors are thoroughly aware of the formidable character of their
undertaking. No one, in fact, who has not been intimately associated with
the making of a great encyclopaedia can fully understand the difficulties
which are inherent in such a task, involving as it does the cooperation of a
large body of highly trained and scientifically qualified experts, and
demanding so many and such varied forms of effort---organization, selection,
knowledge, literary skill, critical judgment, and a true sense of
proportion. Nor has it been forgotten that such a work as this should be
something more than a convenient book of reference. Encyclopaedias have in
the past performed, and they are still performing , a remarkable educational
function in disseminating exact knowledge upon an immense variety of
subjects. To prepare a book which shall professedly discharge a function so
important is no light undertaking; to obtain even a fair measure of success
is a memorable achievement. It is the hope of the Editors of this
Encyclopaedia that the test of time will show them to have profited alike by
the merits and by the defects of the works which have preceeded it; and that
the result may be approved as embodying the experience of the past with an
intelligent conception of the requirements of the present.

Daniel Coit Gilman
Harry Thurston Peck
Frank Moore Colby
New York, June 5, 1902
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• [NYBROOKLYN] Dear List-re: Preface: by "Miriam Medina" <>