This multi-volume series, edited by the prominent scientist and author Dionysius Lardner, offers a broad survey of the arts and sciences, including natural history, astronomy, literature, and more. Featuring contributions from leading scholars of the day, this series remains an important resource for anyone interested in the intellectual history of the Victorian period.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

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