Pasted into volume 11 of Encyclopaedia; or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature (Philadelphia: Thomas Dobson, 1798), this broadside appears to be the only surviving evidence of one of the most unusual private circulating libraries. It demonstrates the cultural importance of one encyclopedia and the lengths people might go to be able to purchase such an expensive item.
An entire society was set up in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to circulate just one publication: Dobson’s multi-volume Encyclopaedia.
Published by Thomas Dobson from 1789 to 1798, Dobson’s Encyclopaedia was the first issued in the newly independent United States of America. Largely a reprint of the third edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (published 1788–97), Dobson’s was a slightly longer work in which a few articles were edited for a patriotic American audience. The original 18 volumes were published between 1792 and 1798, but a 3-volume supplement was published in 1803. Since the broadside refers to the encyclopedia as a 21-volume set, the broadside itself presumably was not printed before 1803.
The Portsmouth Encyclopedia Society’s constitution begins with a statement of purpose: “We whose names are undersigned have formed ourselves into a social society by the name of the Portsmouth Encyclopedia Society, for the purpose of possessing ourselves of one complete set of Dobson’s Edition of the Encyclopedia, consisting of twenty-one volumes.” Each member was entitled to an equal share of Dobson’s Encyclopaedia, which were exchanged during quarterly meetings: the 21 members corresponded with the 21 volumes in the encyclopedia. A committee would examine the books and “assess fines, in an impartial manner, in all cases where blots, torn leaves, or other damages, more than necessary wear shall in their judgment render it proper.” Fines would be issued for damages to the volumes, and a fine of one dollar was to be paid by those who failed to return their volume at the quarterly meeting. The society allowed members to transfer their share via sale to another individual living in Portsmouth. The final article stipulates that a “fair copy of the whole” of these regulations is to be pasted into each of the twelve volumes of Encyclopedia to “prevent all misunderstanding,” and one of these volumes so marked is now at AAS.
~ Elizabeth Pope, Curator of Books and Digital Collections
