The Nuttall encyclopædia: Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge

About this book

The Nuttall encyclopædia, compiled by P. Austin Nuttall, is a reference work that aims to be both concise and comprehensive, offering a dictionary‑style survey of general knowledge. Its opening pages demonstrate the format: each entry begins with a headword, here “Albert” and “Alberti”, followed by a brief definition, historical notes, and occasional quotations. The text moves swiftly from medals and medieval princes to geographic features, scientific terms, and literary figures, presenting a wide variety of subjects in a compact, alphabetically ordered layout. This approach makes the volume a handy compendium for quick fact‑finding, as it packs a surprising amount of detail into terse paragraphs without the sprawling essays of larger encyclopedias.

The prose reflects the scholarly tone of the late‑19th century, with a formal, sometimes ornate diction that mirrors the Victorian impulse to catalogue the world. Entries are dense with proper names, dates, and cross‑references, appealing to readers who enjoy a brisk, information‑rich style rather than narrative exposition. Those with an appetite for historical trivia, classical studies, or the pleasure of leafing through a bygone era’s intellectual inventory will find this work rewarding, especially if they appreciate the methodical, almost encyclopedic cadence of its early pages.

Opening lines

James Wood Albert Medal , a medal of gold and of bronze, instituted in 1866, awarded to civilians for acts of heroism by sea or land. Albert the Bear , markgrave of Brandenburg, called the Bear, "not from his looks or qualities, for he was a tall handsome man, but from the cognisance on his shield, an able man, had a quick eye as well as a strong hand, and could pick what way was straightest among crooked things, was the shining figure and the great man of the North in his day, got much in the North and kept it, got Brandenburg for one there, a conspicuous country ever since," says Carlyle, "and which grows more so in our late times" (1100-1175). Albert Nyan`za , a lake in Equatorial Africa, in the Nile basin, discovered by Sir Samuel Baker in 1864, 150 m. long by 40 broad, and 2500 feet above sea-level. Alber`ta (26), a fertile region with large forests in British America, on the E. …

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