Upper cover of the first part of Robert Watt's work. Few copies in the original parts have survived; nearly all were rebound in 4 volumes.
The rear cover provided a long and elaborate explanation of a work that was not easy to summarize or explain.
When I acquired this set in the original printed boards, all boards were worn to a greater or lesser extent, and all volumes needed rebacking. The books were skillfully rebacked and the bindery made fitted mylar sleeves for each of the volumes to protect the soft paper covering the boards from becoming even more worn down when the books rub against one another.
From 1819, the year of physician Robert Watt's death, and 1824 Watt's Bibliotheca Britannica, or a General Index to British and Foreign Literature was posthumously issued by Archibald Constable of Edinburgh in 11 parts, each bound in pink printed paper boards. The 11 parts comprised the 4 volumes of this huge bio-bibliographical encyclopedia of English and foreign literature — an extraordinary achievement for one man. For obvious reasons few sets of the work survived in the original parts, partly because of the fragility of those bindings, and especially since the work was intended to be bound in 4 volumes, and is far easier to use when so bound.
Typically the first sentence of an entry summarizes the author's life and death, followed by listing of writings more or less detailed. Watt's comments on specific editions and translations indicate a remarkable familiarity with the history of literature, and occasionally with the rarity of certain editions.
The work has been estimated to include citations of more than 200,000 books, pamphlets and periodicals. The first and second volumes contain an alphabetical listing of over 40,000 authors and their biographical details. Full length titles of works, date and place of publication, and information on translations and subsequent editions are provided for each author. The entries covering the earliest printed texts contain details of British and foreign printers.
Volumes three and four provide an encyclopedic index to volumes one and two. The works are listed within 30,000 subject areas, in chronological order of publication. Subjects, authors and titles are fully cross-referenced using an ingenious indexing system. A justifiable criticism of the way the book was published was the use of relatively small type throughout, making reading of its densely set type less comfortable than would have been the case if a larger point size was used. The small type was necessitated by the need to keep costs of the set within bounds.
Robert Watt devoted 25 years of his life to the Bibliotheca's compilation. He studied classical languages and philosophy at Glasgow University. Later he became a student of anatomy and theology at Edinburgh, and practiced as a physician. Watt's interest in the history of medicine led him to begin compiling the Bibliography, which he extended to include works on law, history, language, philosophy, science, technology, travel and geography, and classical literature. Watt's manuscript for the work is preserved in 69 volumes in the Paisley Central Library. Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link.
Upper cover of the first part of Robert Watt's work. Few copies in the original parts have survived; nearly all were rebound in 4 volumes.
The rear cover provided a long and elaborate explanation of a work that was not easy to summarize or explain.
When I acquired this set in the original printed boards, all boards were worn to a greater or lesser extent, and all volumes needed rebacking. The books were skillfully rebacked and the bindery made fitted mylar sleeves for each of the volumes to protect the soft paper covering the boards from becoming even more worn down when the books rub against one another.
_by_Raeburn.jpg "Robert Watt (bibliographer) by Raeburn")
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