The Bee, or Literary Weekly Intelligencer, James Anderson, Volume Sixteenth, 1793, Edinburgh
The Bee, or Literary Weekly Intelligencer, Consisting of Original Pieces, and Selections from Performances of Merit, Foreign and Domestic, A Work calculated to disseminate useful knowledge among all ranks of people at a small expence. By James Anderson, LLD. Volume Sixteenth.
An engaging and richly varied volume from one of the 18th century’s most distinctive periodicals. The Bee; or, Literary Weekly Intelligencer, edited by the Scottish polymath James Anderson, LLD, was published between 1790 and 1794 and aimed to spread useful knowledge and moral reflection “at a small expence” to a broad readership. This sixteenth volume captures the eclectic nature of Enlightenment publishing, offering original articles and selections on science, art, agriculture, social observation, and global affairs. Anderson, an early advocate of agricultural reform and political economy, helped shape a publication as intellectually curious as it was accessible.
This volume contains an especially wide array of topics: biographies of Scottish artists, a history of Scandinavia, reflections on physiognomy, serpents, domestic economy, anecdotes from America and India, and natural history subjects including Russian sheep and gooseberry caterpillars. Illustrated with several striking plates, it combines scientific curiosity with literary entertainment – a hallmark of the Enlightenment press.
Printed for the Editor, 1793 - Vol. V., Edinburgh.
A good copy of this interesting 18th Century journal. Bound with leather spine and with leather corners. Marbled paper over boards. Covers bumped, scuffed and worn with some rubbing and wear to joints. The front cover is only loosely held by binding cords, but all still intact.
The text is very good throughout - bright and clean with only occasional light scattered age spotting. A fascinating read, and carries a number of attractive plates, as well as portrait frontispiece of Gavin Hamilton, Painter, and four attractive plates of Russian sheep.
Text in English.
Frontispiece + Title + ii Index + 336pp + xxiv 'Historical Chronicle' + xxv-xxviii Index + 4 Plates.
Dimensions:
Approximately 188mm high x 120mm wide x 26mm deep.
Weight approximately 363g unpacked.