The 18-volume third edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica began to be published in 1788 in Scotland, and was well received. It was by far the best edition of the Britannica to date, and remained so until roughly the 7th edition. (See History of the Encyclopædia Britannica for more details.) The third edition was completed in 1797, with a two-volume supplement added in 1801.
In this era, enterprising American printers were matching their British counterparts in quality and quantity, and severely undercutting them in price as well. A successful master printer, Dobson objected to a perceived British bias in the Britannica and resolved to re-edit the Britannica to be more fair. He completed his "Encyclopedia" in April 1798, a year after the original. He also added a supplement of three volumes in 1803. Dobson's encyclopædia had 16,650 pages with 595 engraved copperplates; both numbers are slightly greater than their British counterparts. In support of Dobson's patriotic initiative, then-President George Washington subscribed to two sets of his first American encyclopædia, one of which now rests with most of the rest of George Washington's personal library in the Boston Athenæum.
Other publications
Dobson also published the first secular music composed by an American, namely, Seven Songs for Harpsichord by Francis Hopkinson.
Dobson also contributed to the development of American Unitarianism.
Family life
Dobson married Jean Paton on 5 October 1777 in New Grayfriars Parish in Scotland. They had three daughters in Scotland: Margaret (born 15 February 1779), Alison (born 6 October 1780) and Catharine (born 15 November 1782). The family moved to the United States in 1783 or 1784; by 1785, Dobson had a thriving printing business in Philadelphia.
In 1822, Dobson retired from book-selling due to old age and ill health. He died the following year.
References
Arner, Robert D. (1991). Dobson's Encyclopaedia: The Publisher, Text, and Publication of America's First Britannica, 1789-1803. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN9780812230925.
Goldman, Yosef (2006). Hebrew Printing in America. Brooklyn, NY: YGBooks.
External links
Media related to Thomas Dobson at Wikimedia Commons
thomas, dobson, printer, thomas, dobson, 1751, near, edinburgh, scotland, 1823, philadelphia, pennsylvania, master, printer, most, famous, having, published, earliest, american, version, encyclopædia, britannica, first, united, states, publish, complete, hebre. Thomas Dobson 1751 near Edinburgh Scotland 1823 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania was a master printer most famous for having published the earliest American version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and the first in the United States to publish a complete Hebrew Bible Hebrew Bible published by Thomas Dobson in Philadelphia 1814 source Library of Congress Contents 1 Dobson s Encyclopaedia 2 Other publications 3 Family life 4 References 5 External linksDobson s Encyclopaedia EditThe 18 volume third edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica began to be published in 1788 in Scotland and was well received It was by far the best edition of the Britannica to date and remained so until roughly the 7th edition See History of the Encyclopaedia Britannica for more details The third edition was completed in 1797 with a two volume supplement added in 1801 In this era enterprising American printers were matching their British counterparts in quality and quantity and severely undercutting them in price as well A successful master printer Dobson objected to a perceived British bias in the Britannica and resolved to re edit the Britannica to be more fair He completed his Encyclopedia in April 1798 a year after the original He also added a supplement of three volumes in 1803 Dobson s encyclopaedia had 16 650 pages with 595 engraved copperplates both numbers are slightly greater than their British counterparts In support of Dobson s patriotic initiative then President George Washington subscribed to two sets of his first American encyclopaedia one of which now rests with most of the rest of George Washington s personal library in the Boston Athenaeum Other publications EditDobson also published the first secular music composed by an American namely Seven Songs for Harpsichord by Francis Hopkinson Dobson also contributed to the development of American Unitarianism Family life EditDobson married Jean Paton on 5 October 1777 in New Grayfriars Parish in Scotland They had three daughters in Scotland Margaret born 15 February 1779 Alison born 6 October 1780 and Catharine born 15 November 1782 The family moved to the United States in 1783 or 1784 by 1785 Dobson had a thriving printing business in Philadelphia In 1822 Dobson retired from book selling due to old age and ill health He died the following year References EditArner Robert D 1991 Dobson s Encyclopaedia The Publisher Text and Publication of America s FirstBritannica 1789 1803 Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN 9780812230925 Goldman Yosef 2006 Hebrew Printing in America Brooklyn NY YGBooks External links Edit Media related to Thomas Dobson at Wikimedia Commons This article about a person involved with library and information science is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Dobson printer amp oldid 999632851, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
