Encyclopedic dictionary Brockhaus and Efron

Encyclopedic dictionary Brockhaus and Efron (ESBE)
Encyclopedic dictionary Brockhaus and Efron (ESBE)
	; A collection of 86 semi-volumes of Brockhaus and Efron
Author	see text
Genre	universal encyclopedia
Original language	Russian
Original issued
Publisher	JSC "F. A. Brockhaus - I. A. Efron "
Release	1890-1907

“ Encyclopedic dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron ” (abbreviated ESBE ) is a universal encyclopedia in Russian , published in the Russian Empire by the joint stock publishing company FA Brokgauz - I.A. Efron ( Petersburg ) in 1890-1907 . The publication was published in two versions - 41 volumes and 2 additional (a smaller part of the circulation) and 82 and 4 additional in semi-volumes ^[1] . Polutoma have double numbering - for example, polutoma 49 and 50 (numbers on the spine) on the cover pages are numbered XXV and XXVa.

The first 8 semi-books were edited by I. E. Andreevsky , the rest - edited by K. K. Arsenyev and F. F. Petrushevsky . The encyclopedia contains 121,240 articles, 7800 illustrations and 235 maps.

In 1899 - 1902, the Brockhaus and Efron Small Encyclopedic Dictionary (MESBE) was produced (in 3 volumes); in 1907 - 1909 his second edition was published in 4 volumes.

In 1911 - 1916, the “New Encyclopedic Dictionary” (NES) was issued (29 volumes out of the planned 48 were published, the last article was “ Otto ”).

Since 1987, ESBE materials have been in the public domain .

Creation History

Title pages of volumes Ia and XXV

In 1889, at the initiative of Semyon Vengerov ^[2] , the owner of one of the St. Petersburg printing houses, Ilya Abramovich, signed a contract with the German publishing house FA Brockhaus to translate into Russian the large encyclopedic dictionary Konversations-Lexikon , released by this publishing house ^[3] . Initially it was supposed to be limited to the translation of this edition, but only with a more detailed description of issues relating to Russia. It was supposed to release only 16-18 volumes.

The first eight volumes (up to the letter “B”), published under the general editorship of Professor Ivan Efimovich Andreevsky , were almost a literal translation with a small adaptation for the Russian reader. These volumes have caused a lot of complaints about the quality of the translation, the general management of the publication also left much to be desired.

After the death of Professor Andreevsky, the editors were headed by Academician Konstantin Konstantinovich Arsenyev and Professor at St. Petersburg University Fedor Fomich Petrushevsky , which marked a new period in the history of the encyclopedia ^[3] . Starting from volume 9, the translation material goes to the background, it becomes much more actual and statistical material. Particular attention is paid to geographical articles, the editorial states: “Russian cities fit absolutely everything, with the addition of towns, villages and villages with more than 3 thousand inhabitants, or for some reason worthy of attention” ^[3] .

"Encyclopedic Dictionary" began to be printed in two versions. The first, more luxurious and expensive, consisted of 41 volumes, the second, with a more modest design, of 82 half-books. Having broken its expensive publication in half a dozen, the company made it more accessible to wide sections of readers, thanks to which the circulation was brought to a record time - 130 thousand copies.

Many outstanding scientists and philosophers of that time were invited to the editorial staff: Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev , Vladimir Sergeevich Soloviev , Semyon Afanasyevich Vengerov , Andrei Nikolaevich Beketov , Alexander Ivanovich Voeikov and many others. From this point on, the encyclopedia begins to be replenished with original articles, and the focus is on issues relating to the history, culture and geography of Russia. Repression of translated articles by original ones, the emergence of new authors affected the very nature of the publication: it turned from a trivial encyclopedia into a collection of the latest achievements and discoveries in all areas of science and technology ^[4] .

"Encyclopedic Dictionary" was published from 1890 to 1904. Every year 4-5 volumes were published. Circulation fluctuated quite significantly: from 12 thousand copies in 1890 to 25 thousand in 1897. Polutoma 54 and 55, containing an extensive comprehensive description of Russia (1899), were published in editions of 35 thousand copies ^[5] . A large circulation at that time caused the dictionary to be widely distributed in the market, despite the rather high price ^[6] .

By 1907, an additional 4 half-volumes were published, and all the most significant of them were included here, which for various reasons were missed in previous volumes or appeared after the encyclopedia was released. The 82nd half-time ends with the “Portrait Gallery” of editors and staff of the Encyclopedic Dictionary, consisting of 300 portraits of phototypes : from the chief editor to a simple typesetter ^[7] .

At the same time, in the years 1899–1902, the Small Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron was published in three volumes ^[8] ; in 1907-1909 his second edition was published in four volumes ^[9] .

In 1911, the New Encyclopedic Dictionary began to be published under the editorship of Konstantin Konstantinovich Arsenyev ^[6] , which was supposed to cover the same range of knowledge as ESBE, but in a more compact and modern processing. In 1916, due to the difficulties of wartime, the dictionary was terminated on the 29th volume of the originally planned 48 volumes of this publication ^[2] . Correctional copies of the 30th (“ Padalka ” - “ Perm Diocese ”; incomplete, without beginning) and the 31st volume (“ Perm system ” - “ Poznan Great Principality ”) are kept in the NLR . ^[10] .

Encyclopedia Features

A particularly large place in the “Dictionary” is occupied by articles on the history of Russia, its science, education, industry, culture ^[7] ; for example, the article " Russia " occupies two polutoma ^[3] .

DI Mendeleev was not only the author of the articles, but also edited many of them, directing the chemical engineering and factory departments of the encyclopedia. Moreover, most of the articles written by him personally or in co-authorship were marked not with the name, but with the Greek letter delta (Δ). The article “ Periodic legitimacy of chemical elements ” ended with the words:

In short, the wide applicability of P. law in the absence of an understanding of its cause is one of the signs that he is very new and deeply penetrates into the nature of chemical phenomena, and I, as a Russian, am proud to have participated in its establishment ^[11] .
- D. Mendeleev .

The periodic system continued to be built and replenished in front of the author's eyes: this is illustrated by the article " didymus ." In it, mentioning that Auer von Welsbach had already laid out this imaginary element on praseodymium and neodymium (in 1882), Mendeleev brings back the old layouts, concluding with their conclusion:

In the aggregate of all the given data, if we consider D. as a chemical individual element, then it should be placed in the fifth group of the DI Mendeleev system.

Another feature of the encyclopedia - a free style of presentation. Elements of fiction are found not only in biographical articles, many of which are read as fascinating stories, but also in scientific ones. In many respects, such relaxedness in the presentation of the material is also a consequence of the involvement of the most prominent scientists of that time in writing articles, because, as you know, the one who is free to orient himself in this field can be the most lucid in explaining something ^[12] . Moreover, then it was not accepted to edit articles, “combing” them with the same brush, and the author's style remained intact. It should be noted, however, that in articles on topics from history, art, literature, etc., this manner is sometimes combined with a violation of the principle of objectivity: so the authors introduce their own opinions or their own assessments to cover the issue ^[13] .

When creating an ESBE, it was not without typos, repetitions (articles: " Amsler Samuel " and " Amzler Samuil "; " Anidrozis " and " Anhidrosis or Anidroz "; " Antonsky-Prokopovich Anton Antonovich " and " Prokopovich-Antonsky, Anton Antonovich ", etc. .), as well as curiosities, the most famous of which is referred to as "The Unmindful Dog ."

Today, ESBE materials are in the public domain ; Although the encyclopedia is already outdated in scientific and technical terms and in the coverage of many humanitarian issues, many of its articles are still of exceptional informational, cultural and historical value. Despite the presence of significant alternative projects, such as the Pomegranate Encyclopedia or the “ Big Encyclopedia edited by Yuzhakov, ” the ESBE is recognized as the best pre-revolutionary Russian universal encyclopedia ^[4] .

In the newest social and anthropological studies, a thesis was expressed about the definite influence that ESBE had on the Soviet encyclopedic tradition ^[14] .

Authors and Editors

See also the portrait gallery of editors and staff .

ESBE in culture

Mikhail Bulgakov in 1923 wrote a comic feuilleton "How much Brockhaus can the body endure?" About how "one lazy librarian" answered the question of a mechanic who was eager for knowledge and said that "information about everything decisively" is available in Brockhaus's dictionary. The poor locksmith mastered 5 books,

However, already from the second volume the mechanic has become little to eat, has somehow become inclined and became absent-minded. With a sigh, he changed the book he had read to a new one, and asked the Kultotdelovsky grymsa, entrenched in dusty book barricades, “was there much left?” In the fifth book, strange things began to happen to him. So, in broad daylight, he saw Bann-Abul-Abbas-Ahmed-ibn-Mohammed-Othman-ibn-ala , the famous Arabic mathematician in a white turban, in the street, at the entrance to the workshops.
The mechanic was silent on the day of the appearance of the Arab who wrote “Talkis-amal al-hisab”, guessed what to do intermission, and did not read until the evening. This, however, did not save him from two visits in the silence of a sleepless night - first the cheeky syndic of the free Hanseatic city of Edward Banks , and then the governor of the office of the Little Russian governor Dimitri Nikolayevich Bantysh-Kamensky ^[15] .

ESBE is mentioned in the novel The Golden Calf . Tom ESBE kept houses at Vasisualiy Lokhankina :

It was easy to think about all this, walking around the room in felt boots, bought Varvar money, and glancing at your favorite cupboard, where the roots of the Brockhouse Encyclopedic Dictionary flickered with church gold. For a long time Vasisualy was stacking in front of the cupboard, shifting his eyes from the spine to the spine.

Editions