First published in 1997, this volume examines two of Sir Francis Bacon’s civil essays, Sir Henry Wotton’s The Elements of Architecture and John Harris’ Lexicon Technicum parts I and II.

Volume one begins with two essays by Bacon, Of Buildings and Of Gardens . These are followed by an adaptation of Isaac Walton's The Life of Sir Henry Wotton, and Wotton's treatise The Elements of Architecture . The principal theme of this volume is Harris' pioneering lexicon the first book of its k

Of the encyclopaedic dictionaries examined in this series, only the Encyclopaedia Britannica is still published today, having been in print for over 200 years. The first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica as we know it, was published in Edinburgh in 1771 by Andrew Bell, Colin Macfarquhar and William Smellie, together with 'A Society of Gentlemen'. The original concept for the work was stimulated by the appearance in France between 1751 and 1772 of the Encyclopédie of Diderot and D'Alembert. The Encyclopédie introduced two new concepts which were employed in the Encyclopaedia Britannica: the introduction of 'crafts' in addition to the arts and sciences, and the incorporation of extended articles or Treatises. This volume reproduces over 500 entries on architecture, arts and crafts found in the first edition. These include the full texts of the specialized writings on Architecture, Fortification, Gardening and Perspective.

Volume two provides letterpress articles extracted from Chambers' Cyclopaedia. The introduction and chapter one trace the publication history of Cyclopaedia and consider its aims, structure, system of arrangement, and general influence. Chambers' flattering Dedication to George II is reproduced along with a substantial portion of his scholarly preface, which presents the principal categories of Chambers' Division of Knowledge in the form of a genealogical tree. His original diagrammatic representation of the division of knowledge is also provided. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The first three chapters describe Johnson's pre-dictionary life, the creation of the dictionary (including citations from Johnson's original Plan), and his treatment of architectural subjects. Following his original preface, letterpress articles portray architectural subjects using quotations to illustrate words and meanings. Such rich, linguistic illustration was unknown to philology before the work of "the harmless drudge." The original title pages of volume one and two are included. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR