"The spectacle of nature and the arts" as a sample of the encyclopedia of the XVIIIth century

Abstract

The aim of the article is to attract readers’ attention to the outstanding monument of book culture of the XYIII century – the encyclopedia “The Spectacle of Nature and Arts” (“Schauplatz der Natur und der Kunst ein vier Sprachen, deutsch, lateinisch, franzosisch und italienisch. Bd. 1–10. Wien. 1774-1779”) – an edition in ten volumes published in Vienna in four languages (Latin, German, French and Italian), which gave an idea of handicrafts, trades, natural phenomena, plants and animals, – and its Russian speaking version.Famous Russian scientists took part in translating the encyclopedia into Russian. Particular attention was paid at characteristics of articles on typography since they could provide information about ancient technologies for making books. Drawings (illustrations) attached to each article allow you to visualize the atmosphere of workshops as well as materials, tools and equipment common to that time.The edition is richly illustrated - each article is accompanied by an engraving on copper. Some of the engravings were re-engraved from the German edition, and some were made especially for the Russian one.