The Cabinet Cyclopædia

[3] Dionysius Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia, published between 1829 and 1846, was one of the most successful of these enterprises, which also included John Murray's Family Library and the publications of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.[4] Although intended for the "general reader", the series was aimed specifically at the middle class rather than the masses: each volume cost six shillings, prohibiting purchase by the poor.[6] The prospectus assured its readers that "nothing will be admitted into the pages of the 'CABINET CYCLOPAEDIA' which can have the most remote tendency to offend public or private morals.[11] Reverend Dr. Dionysius Lardner, a science lecturer at University College London, started the Cabinet Cyclopaedia in 1827 or 1828.[18] Because of the popularity of encyclopedias at the beginning of the 19th century, the Cabinet Cyclopaedia did not receive enough critical notice to make it a bestseller.
Illustration from the first volume of Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia , the History of Scotland by Walter Scott
Dionysius LardnerDionysius Lardner'sJohn Murray'sFamily LibrarySociety for the Diffusion of Useful KnowledgeshillingsLongmanJohn TaylorMary ShelleyUniversity College LondonJames MackintoshWalter ScottThomas MooreConnop ThirlwallRobert SoutheyHenry Roscoelegal biographiesJohn HerschelAugust De MorganDavid BrewsterFindenSpottiswoode'sList of works in Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia