Physical description

Hard cover book. The Children’s Encyclopedia Vol 8
Editor: Arthur Mee
Publisher: The Amalgamated Press Ltd, London.
Date: 1956–1960
Further Information: Textured hard cover cloth bound book, burgundy colour with gold lettering. Inscription with title details, pages 1-764 with ornate gilt pattering to Spine.

Publication type

non-fiction

Inscriptions & markings

Label on spine with typed text PAT 032 CHI

Summary

The Children's Encyclopedia, by Arthur Mee, is a landmark British children's reference work part encyclopedia, part general-knowledge reader first issued in fortnightly parts between 1908 and 1910, then bound into volumes, originally eight, later revised and expanded to ten. Rather than being organised as a straightforward A to Z reference, it grouped knowledge into thematic sections such as Nature, Science, History, "Golden Deeds," Bible Stories, Poetry, and "Things to Make and Things to Do," aiming to make learning engaging rather than dry. It was published by the Educational Book Company Ltd, a subsidiary of the Amalgamated Press of London, and appeared continuously from 1908 through to 1964, becoming a fixture in many family homes across the British Empire. Walter M. Jackson's company Grolier later acquired the rights to publish it in America under the title The Book of Knowledge.