Dobson's Encyclopædia
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Dobson's Encyclopædia was the first encyclopedia issued in the newly independent United States of America, published by Thomas Dobson from 1789–1798.[1] Encyclopædia was the full title of the work, with Dobson's name at the bottom of the title page (see illustration).
The encyclopedia was a reprint of the contemporary third edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (published 1788–1797), although Dobson's Encyclopædia was a somewhat longer work in which a few articles were edited for a patriotic American audience. The term Britannica was dropped from the title, the dedication to King George III was replaced with a dedication to the readers, and sundry facts about American history, geography and peoples were added. Reproduction of printed pages was not then possible; the entire work was re-set in type, allowing changes to be made throughout. However, the work is largely a reprint of Britannica. The plates were re-engraved from the originals as accurately as possible, but some were changed. For example, the map of North America used in Britannica's third edition was the very out-of-date one used in the first and second editions; Dobson's used a larger and much more detailed and updated map, and a slightly improved map of South America.