One of the immutable laws of library stocktaking is that a
book is much more likely to survive a weeding program if it is part of a set.
And so, when reviewing the non-fiction collection of the Launceston Mechanics'
Institute, we were struck by the number of volumes of Dr Lardner's Cabinet
Cyclopaedia that were still held.
The remarkable Dionysius Lardner pitched his idea of a
thematic cyclopaedia to Longmans in the late 1820s, and the first volume was
published in 1830. When the final volume appeared in 1844 it brought the total
to 133.
Dr Lardner was the author of the Arithmetic, Heat,
Hydrostatics and Pneumatics, Geometry, Electricity and Magnetism volumes, and
co-author of Mechanics.
He commissioned works from notable writers and authorities
to expand his Cyclopaedia into the areas of History, Biography, the Arts, Natural
Science, Philosophy, Manufactures, and even a volume on Taxidermy. Sir Walter
Scott wrote a two volume history of Scotland; Thomas Moore the history of
Ireland; Robert Southey three of the four volumes on the lives of British Naval
Commanders. Mary Shelley contributed to the biographies of Eminent French
Authors.
In a Catalogue of the Distinct Works of Dr Lardner's Cabinet
Cyclopaedia published in 1840, the series was recommended as being "very
advantageous for FAMILIES resident in the country who are not provided with a
library, - for the libraries of MECHANICS' INSTITUTIONS and of LITERARY and
PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETIES."
Lardner was a popular lecturer, appearing regularly at
London's mechanics' institutions, and on the circuit of provincial literary and
philosophical societies and mechanics' institutes. He wrote for the Society for
the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge on a variety of scientific topics. He can be
seen as an important mediator of scientific knowledge, dedicated to providing
the general populace with an understanding of new technologies in a time of
rapid change.
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| Title Vignette from Dr Lardner's Treatise on Arithmetic, Vol LV of the Cabinet Cyclopaedia |
A feature of the Cyclopaedia's appeal was its low cost. Each
uniformly bound octavo volume cost six shillings. In 1853, Longmans reduced the
price to three shillings and sixpence, and a complete set could be had for
nineteen guineas.
At present 97 volumes, including some duplicates and
donations, have been located in the Launceston Mechanics' Institute collection.
Most show the external evidence of heavy use. When the entire collection was
re-accessioned circa 1890, the Cabinet Cyclopaedia was one of the first
priorities and was given running numbers from 305- 410, suggesting it was
collocated and occupied a prominent place in the Reading Room's reference
collection despite its age. Later, when the collection was reclassified using
the Dewey Decimal system, volumes were moved to their subject areas but
continued to form part of the working collection.
Much could be written about Lardner's colourful career. The
interested reader is directed to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
for a balanced account which ranges across his personal life, scientific
achievements and his other writing and publishing activities. It also
references some varied, and at times satirical, personal assessments by his
contemporaries.
While Lardner is a largely forgotten figure today, it is
worth noting as a gloss that he was Karl Marx's "go-to" man on
matters relating to the economics of railways, and is quoted extensively in
'Das Kapital'.
For a detailed account of the Cabinet Cyclopaedia, Morse
Peckham's ‘Dr Lardner's Cabinet
Cyclopedia’, in the Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, 45
(1951), pp 37–58, is recommended.
