Tag St. Louis

Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia of Modern Knowledge (1959)

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General Details

Title: Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia of Modern Knowledge
Volumes: 1
Language: English
Publisher: Funk & Wagnalls
Year: 1959
Pages: 3956

This is the largest single-volume book I own. I had the option of getting the magnificent 6-volume Century Dictionary in a one-volume edition, which would have been larger and heavier, but passed due in large part to my experiences with this book. It weighs a good 20 pounds. The advertising brochure boasts about the conveniences of having a single-volume reference work - no need to make multiple trips to the shelf to consult multiple volumes! less bookshelf space taken up! - but I personally would rather have a multi-volume work. The print, presented in three-columns, is small and the nature of the binding means that, although the book itself lays flat, the pages always have a steep curve towards the center, which makes reading unpleasant. This book is more of a physical workout than a mental one.

The ONE-VOLUME "Assemble-It-Yourself" EDITION Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia of Modern Knowledge was presented as an even cheaper alternative to the already-cheaper-than-most supermarket encyclopedia sets (where one would purchase one or two volumes alongside that week's groceries). This encyclopedia would involve multiple mail shipments (22 weekly mailings for the book sections plus 2 additional mailings with the binder pieces), ALL of which would have to arrive before the whole thing could be assembled with the handy 4-page guide (the photographic print pages and fold-out map pages, all included in section 22, would have to be distributed throughout the entirety of the encyclopedia during assembly, following the handy table provided). All of this great effort by the consumer is what helps drive the price down, according to the advertising materials: "The amazingly small cost at which this valuable encyclopedia can be acquired is largely made possible because you, (after obtaining the Sections week by week), collate the pages and Sections and bind the encyclopedia yourself, thus eliminating one of the costliest procedures in book manufacturing."

After this massive construction project, you have an encyclopedia that claims to feature 30,000 topics, 1,700 illustrations (including 167 color photographs on 13 pages and 192 pages of monochrome photographs), 5,750,000 words, and 3,956 pages. There is no index. Entries refer to other entries through the use of q.v. The fold-out maps (which it boasts fold out to nearly twice the size of maps in other encyclopedias) are difficult to fold and unfold without tearing due to the binding.

Sample Entries

I attempt to look up "umbrella" and "Saint Louis" in every reference work featured on this site. I could not find an entry on "umbrella" or "parasol." There is no index, so I could not see if it was featured under other articles. "Saint Louis" can be found on pages 3128 and 3129:

SAINT LOUIS, port of entry, the principal city of Missouri, and the chief city of the Mississippi Valley, situated on the w. bank of the Mississippi R., about 20 m. below the mouth of the Missouri R. and about 200 m. above the confluence of the Mississippi with the Ohio R. On the e. bank of the Mississippi, opposite St. Louis, is the city of East St. Louis, Illinois. St. Louis is one of the most important centers of transportation in the U.S., and the second-largest railroad terminal in the nation. It is served by nineteen major railroads and numerous other lines, by several major air lines, by bus and truck lines, and by barges and other craft on the Mississippi R. Several bridges span the river at St. Louis. The city covers an area of 61.37 sq. m. and is divided into sections by a series of shallow valleys. It extends along the river front for about 19 m., spreading westward from the river for about 7 m., and rising from an altitude of about 395 ft. above sea level to about 585 ft. The levee extends for about 4 m. along the central part of the river front. The oldest industrial area occupies this portion of the city, with the newer industrial districts extending along the railroads and other commercial arteries, and occupying outlying regions. Many of the residential districts, due to the city's vast industrial expansion, now lie in adjacent communities forming the St. Louis metropolitan area.

St. Louis is the eighth-largest city in population, and its industrial area ranks ninth in value added by manufacture, in the U.S. Its prominence as a commercial, distributing, manufacturing, and financial center is due to its central position, giving access to abundant raw materials, sources of fuel supply, hydroelectric power, and densely-populated areas, and to its excellent transportation facilities. The city is one of the world's leading markets for wool, lumber, furs, hides, horses and mules, grain, drugs, dry goods, and men's and women's hats. The chief industries are meat packing, brewing oil refining, printing and publishing, shipping, and the manufacture of poultry and livestock, feed, tobacco products, flour, food products, bakery products, beverages, shoes, shoemaking machinery, boot and shoe cut stock, motor vehicles, motor-vehicle bodies and parts, railroad and street cars, iron, steel, lead, stoves, ranges, furnaces, aircraft, machinery, electrical apparatus and equipment, hardware, ordnance materials, brick, terra cotta and other clay products, boxes and other lumber products, paper containers, chemicals, drugs, paints and varnishes, textiles, and clothing. The extensive wholesale and jobbing houses in St. Louis serve fourteen of the midwestern States and the city also has a vast retail trade. St. Louis is the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of the 8th district, and the site of a Federal Land Bank, in addition to several other Federal agencies.

Among the educational and cultural institutions in the city and vicinity are Washington University (q.v.); St. Louis University (q.v.); the City College of Law and Finance; Harris Teachers College, established in 1857; The Principia College (Christian Science), founded in 1898; the St. Louis College of Pharmacy; Stowe Teachers and Junior College (1898); Concordia Theological Seminary (Evangelical Lutheran), founded in 1839; Eden Theological Seminary (German Evangelical Synod of North America), established in 1859; Kenrick Theological Seminary (Roman Catholic), founded in 1894; the St. Louis Institute of Music; the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra; the Artists' Guild; the St. Louis Public Library; the Mercantile Library; the Missouri Historical Society; the Civic Grand Opera Association; the municipal opera; and the St. Louis Art Museum.

The most notable structures are the public buildings flanking the Memorial Plaza, which include the Civil Courts Building, tallest (375 ft.) building in the city, the United States Customs and Courts Building, the City Hall, the Soldiers Memorial, and the Municipal Auditorium, containing an opera house seating 3500 persons and an arena seating 12,500 persons; Union Station; the Old Courthouse, completed in 1862, scene of the Dred Scott (q.v.) trial; the old Roman Catholic cathedral; and the Old Rock House, oldest house in the city, a former fur-trading post. Forest Park, the principal municipal park, contains the Jefferson Memorial, of white marble in semiclassical design, housing the collection of the Missouri Historical Society and the trophies and medals of Charles A. Lindbergh, the American aviator; and the St. Louis Art Museum, one of the outstanding art galleries of the U.S. The park, covering an area of about 1400 acres, also contains the zoological gardens and the municipal open-air theater, largest of its kind in the U.S. Numerous smaller parks provide additional recreational facilities, and the Missouri Botanical Garden (125 acres) is noted for its extensive variety of plant life.

St. Louis was founded in 1764 as a fur-trading station by René Auguste Chouteau, representing the interests of Pierre Laclède Liguest, a French merchant in New Orleans. It was named in honor of Louis IX (Saint Louis) of France. The settlement came into Spanish possession in 1763 and, as the capital of Upper Louisiana, under actual Spanish authority in 1770. On March 9, 1804, the Spanish lieutenant governor Charles De Lassus formally transferred Upper Louisiana to Capt. Amos Stoddard of the U.S. Army, in accordance with the terms of the Louisiana Purchase (q.v.) concluded the year before. Under the Americans St. Louis became in turn the seat of government of the District of Louisiana in 1804, of the Territory of Louisiana in 1805 and, in 1812, of the Territory of Missouri. It was incorporated as a town in 1808 and in the same year the first newspaper w. of the Mississippi R., the Louisiana Gazette, was published at St. Louis. The city of St. Louis was chartered in 1822. Until almost the middle of the 19th century, the fur trade remained the principal industry there, with many great fur companies competing for dominance, including the American Fur Company of John Jacob Astor (q.v.).

With the enormous increase in the 19th century of river traffic, and later of railroad transportation, St. Louis developed in commercial and industrial importance. Many European immigrants, notably from Germany and Ireland, settled there. During the Civil War the city was a center of Unionist sympathy. Following the war the city continued to progress in all fields of development. It became the center of a philosophic and cultural school known as "the St. Louis Movement", based primarily upon the philosophic teachings of the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Hegel (q.v.), which had an important influence on the cultural development of the Middle West. In 1904 the city was the site of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (see Exhibitions and Expositions), from which the Jefferson Memorial and St. Louis Art Museum remain. In 1936 the National Park Service began preliminary work on the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, to commemorate the territorial expansion of the United States. Now a national historic site, the memorial covers 37 blocks along the central riverfront district of the city. Pop. (1950) 856,796; of the metropolitan district (1959) 1,681,281.

Encyclopædia Heibonsha (1984)

Bran

General Details

Title: 平凡社　大百科辞典 (Great Encylopædia Heibonsha)
Volumes: 16
Language: Japanese
Publisher: 平凡社 (Heibonsha)
Year: 1984
Pages: 21,164

The 大百科辞典 (dai hyakka jiten), or Great Encyclopedia, was released in 1984 in 16 volumes. Unlike the other editions of the Heibonsha encyclopedia released before and after it (most named 世界大百科辞典 - sekai dai hyakka jiten, or World Great Encyclopedia), this one is monochrome and takes up far fewer volumes. The preceding edition, published in 1972 in 35 hardcover volumes (and reprinted again in 1975 in paperback), featured color plate pages and atlas volumes, but was essentially a revision of the 1964 edition, which itself was a revision of the 1955 edition. The Heibonsha was feeling a lot of pressure in the mid-1970s from competing encyclopedias, and so a total reworking of the encyclopedia was called for and this edition was released. Three years later, in 1988, it would be released again as 世界大百科辞典, or World Great Encyclopedia, in 35 volumes; this was the same text as the 1984 version, but now with more illustrations, color plates, an atlas, etc. According to Sekiguchi Hideki, an executive from Heibonsha, they just didn't manage to get color plates into the 1984 edition, a point of embarrassment, due to the intense time pressure they were under to release a new encyclopedia (最後の〈紙〉の百科『世界大百科事典』, "The Last Paper 'World Great Encyclopedia'", accessed Oct 3, 2019).

That said, I love this encyclopedia. I wish my Japanese level was higher so that I could spend more time reading it. It is extremely thorough, as you will see in the sample articles (provided with translation). The text, presented in three columns on each page, can be a bit small sometimes. The pictures, diagrams, and charts are all extremely clear and well-done. The binding is really beautiful - as you run your eyes along the bottom of the golden spines of the books, you see a man run, jump, and transform into a bird lifting off into the sky. Except for strictly Japanese topics, most entries feature a keyword in English, German, or whatever the appropriate foreign language may be; some feature more than one foreign translation. I am reminded a bit of the Encyclopedia Americana - like that work, this one features entries on important works, novels, movies, etc. For example, one can find an entry on 精神分析入門, or, as is also given in the entry header, Vorlesungen zur Einführung in die Psychoanalyse - in other words, this is a brief entry on Sigmund Freud's Introduction to Psychoanalysis.

The first volume includes a brief introduction on why a new edition of the encyclopedia was called for and a note on the methodology in choosing the entries, organization, language use, etc. There is then a list of the main editors. Following this is a guide to using the encyclopedia, including notes on alphabetization (the entries are arranged in aiueo-order), how foreign names and words fit into this, and a guide to abbreviations. A condensed version of this guide appears in each of the other volumes. Volumes 1 through 15 constitute the main text of the encyclopedia; volume 16 is the index volume. The index volume contains both a comprehensive index of terms in Japanese, arranged in the standard aiueo-order, as well as an index of foreign keywords, names, and scientific terms arranged in ABC order. Each has a separate set of page numbers. If I wanted to look up Michael Ende, for example, I would find エンデ、M. listed on page 129 in the Japanese index, and I would similarly find Ende, M. on page 96 of the ABC index; both would direct me to the left-hand column on page 1018 in volume 6 (part of the entry on 児童文学, "children's literature"). The index volume also contains the full list of contributors (the preface in volume one claims there are 7000 contributors), illustrators, and image sources.

Sample Entries

I attempt to look up "umbrella" and "Saint Louis" in every reference work I feature on this site, to provide a source of fair comparison between them. I have to take back what I said about Johnson's Universal having the most thorough entry on umbrellas; the Encylopædia Heibonsha beats it soundly. The fact that the umbrella originated in Asia has been mentioned in a number of the works reviewed on this site, so the fact that Japan has been exposed to the umbrella longer than Europe and America may partially explain the difference in the levels of attention it receives in their respective reference works. While translating the article, I googled some statistics on umbrella sales. I read in one place that 33 million umbrellas are sold in the United States per year, and I read elsewhere that 120 million are sold in Japan annually. When you consider that annual consumption per-capita ratio (~10% in the USA versus ~95% in Japan), that may also explain why an entry on the umbrella would be more detailed in a Japanese encyclopedia versus an American one. The main entry on "umbrella" (傘, kasa) can be found in volume 3, on pages 214-215. I have a loose translation afterwards; apologies in advance for the 3rd paragraph ("There are many theories...") - I had trouble with the etymology section:

かさ　　傘

雨や日ざしを避けるため頭上にかざすもの。直接あたまにかぶる笠と区別するため〈さしがさ〉ともいう。しかし、傘と笠は関係深く、さらに、仏像の上に懸垂される‣天蓋や、宮廷の儀式に用いた〈きぬかさ〉とも共通する面がある。

中国の神話によれば、黄帝が戦いの際、五色の雲が花の形になって頭上にとどまったとき戦況が一変し勝利を得たので、これにちなんで華蓋をつくり、以後つねにかざしたという。華蓋は実際に国王や貴族の外出の際の日よけとして用いられたもので、日本では〈きぬかさ〉と読ませている (《和名抄》) 。大きな笠に柄をつけて手にもつようにしたものが簦で、《和名抄》では〈おほかさ〉としている。日本では《万葉集》に蓋きぬかさの語があり、《宇津保物語》《枕草子》《更級日記》などに〈からかさ〉の語が出てくる。

からかさ (唐傘) については、①唐・ 韓からから伝来したもの (《類聚名物考》) 、② 柄笠 (傘) の語があり、柄の字を〈から〉と読む (《貞丈雑記》) 、③さっと開いて、さすのが奇なるゆえ (《俚言集覧》) 、④からくりの〈から〉と同じくろくろ細工の意あるいは軽いの意 (《俗語考》) 、というような説がある。文献では、唐傘、韓笠、簦、雨繖、油傘、笠傘、雨傘、竪笠、傘の字をからかさと読んでいる。繖はきぬかさ、つまり布を張ったかさをさすが、紙張りのかさも古くからあり、字音が同じ傘 (サン) と区別はない。いずれにしても、古い時代の〈かさ〉がどんなものかは明確ではない。英語では傘をアンブレラ umbrella というが、これは〈影〉を意味するラテン語 umbra が語源であり、フランス語では日傘をパラソル parasol ( para はよけるの意。太陽をよける) 、雨傘をパラプリュい parapluie (雨をよける) という。

[歴史]　古代オリエントの彫刻や絵画には権力者の頭上に傘をさしかけている場面があるが、これは権威を象徴している。古代ギリシア・ローマでも傘は見られるが、いずれも日よけが主で、婦人用であった。開閉できる傘は１３世紀にイタリアでつくられたという。雨傘が使われたのは17世紀ころからで、18世紀イギリスの商人で慈善事業家のハンウェーJonas Hanway (1712-86)が1778年に雨傘をさしてロンドン市街を歩き、その大胆さに人々は驚いたと言い伝えられている。当時の傘の骨はクジラの骨であったが、1820年代に鋼鉄の骨がつくられ、52年にS.フォックスによってU字形の溝のついた骨が開発され、骨が細く、軽くて使いよい傘が普及するようになった。

《日本書紀》によれば、日本には552年（欽明13)百済の聖明王の寄進によって初めて蓋伝えられた。絹張りの大型の傘で貴人にさしかけるものであった。みずから手に持つ傘は1594年（文禄3）堺の商人納屋助左衛門がルソン（呂宋）より伝えたといわれる。これが一般に普及しはじめるのは江戸時代になってからで、とくに女子は頭に直接かぶる笠が髪型を乱すことから傘がもてはやされるようになった。貞享・元禄（1684ー1704）のころには長柄傘、‣蛇の目傘、正徳（1711ー16）のころには大黒屋傘、享保（1716ー36）のころには紅葉傘、渋蛇の目傘が流行した。粗末なつくりのものを‣番傘と呼んで、気軽に用いだ。一方日傘も文禄（1592ー96）のころから盛んに用いられ、延宝から貞享（1673ー88）にかけて絵日傘が流行した。こうして傘が普及すると、古傘買い、あるいは古骨買いといって、紙が割れて役に立たなくなった傘を買い集める商人も出現した。江戸では買取りであったが、京阪では土瓶や土製の人形との交換が主であった。古骨は古骨屋が洗い、修理して傘屋におろし、張替傘として再生された。洋傘は1859年（安政6）にイギリスの商人により伝えられ、明治に入ると‣こうもり傘と呼ばれ文明開化の象徴として用いられるようになり、明治10年代には一般化した。

[現代の傘]　第2次大戦後、洋傘の開発はめざましく、1949年にはアメリカから輸入されたビニルフィルムを用いたビニル傘が売り出され、爆発的人気を得た。53年にはナイロン洋傘地の国産化、54年にはスプリング式折りたたみ傘の開発で、ナイロン生地を用いた折りたたみ傘の全盛時代に入っていった。また、自動車の乗り降りの際片手で操作できるようにくふうされたジャンプ傘は58年に試作され、61年に一般化、現在紳士物の長傘の70～80％を占めている。72年ころには有名デザイナーブランドの洋傘が登場した。洋傘のサイズは親骨の長さで表し、かつては紳士物63ー66cm、婦人物55cm、骨数10～12本だったが、その後軽量化が進み、紳士物60cm、婦人物50cm、骨数8～10本のものが多くなった。しかし最近は大型のものも好まれている。和傘は1936ー41年にかけてが生産のピークで年間約3500万本、洋傘の3～6倍の生産量があった。その後、戦争をはさんで49ー50年には再び3500万本近く生産され、うち約1500万本は、寛永（1624ー44）のころからの歴史をもつ岐阜市加納町でつくられた。しかしその後は和傘の生産量は激減している。現在の洋傘の国内需要は、輸入品も含めて年間6500万本である。

菊田隆

Umbrella 傘

A thing held aloft over the head to avoid contact with the sun and rain. It is also called 'sashigasa' to distinguish from the 'kasa' (umbrella-hat: 笠) worn directly on the head. However, 傘 and 笠 are closely related, and their form is also shared with the 'kinukasa,' a canopy hung over Buddha statues and used in imperial court ceremonies.

According to Chinese legend, while the Yellow Emperor was engaged in battle, clouds of five colors formed into the shape of a flower and remained overhead, at which time the tide of the battle changed and the Emperor was victorious; because of this, canopies (華蓋, "flower-covers") were created and continuously held aloft from then on. This "flower-cover" canopy was actually used by kings and the aristocracy as a sunshade when they would go out, and is given the reading of 'kinukasa' for Japan in the "Wamyō Ruijushō". In the "Wamyō Ruijushō," the 簦, 'ohokasa', is defined as a large object carried in the hand which is a large umbrella-hat (笠) attached to a handle. In the Japanese "Man'yōshū," the word '蓋' (kinukasa) appears, and the word 'karakasa' can be found in "Utsubo Monogatari," "The Pillow Book," "Sarashina Nikki," etc.

There are many theories around the origin of the 'kara' in 'karakasa,' [唐傘 - the traditional paper umbrella]: ① it is handed down from China/Korea (kara) ["類聚名物考"], ② there is the word 柄笠 and the character 柄 can be read 'kara' ["貞丈雑記"], ③ because it is strange holding it up when it opens suddenly ["俚言集覧"], ④ the 'kara' is the same as in 'karakuri' and either means a wheel device or lightweight ["俗語考"]. The following characters are found in historical literature and can all be read as 'karakasa:' 唐傘、韓笠、簦、雨繖、油傘、笠傘、雨傘、and 竪笠. 繖 refers to the 'kinukasa' - in other words, a held-up umbrella with cloth affixed. The paper-affixed umbrella is similarly old, and there is no distinction in the character 傘 ('san') with the same Japanese pronunciation. In any case, it is not clear which of these the term 'kasa' referred to in the ancient era. In English it is called "umbrella," which has the meaning of "shade" in the Latin origin "umbra." In French, a sunshade is called "parasol" - "para" means "to avoid." It means to avoid the sun, and "parapluie" means to avoid the rain.

[History] There are instances in ancient oriental sculpture and paintings where powerful people are depicted with umbrellas being held overhead; this symbolizes authority. Umbrellas can be seen in ancient Greece and Rome, but they were for use by women mainly as a sunshade. Umbrellas that could open and close were made in Italy in the 13th century. Rain umbrellas were used around the 17th century; in 18th century England, it is said that people were surprised by the audacity of philanthropic businessman Jonas Hanway (1712-86), who walked the streets of London in 1778 carrying a rain umbrella. At that time the umbrella ribs were made from whale bones, but steel ribs started to be used in the 1820s. In 1852, S. Fox developed umbrella ribs that were grooved and shaped like a U, and so easy-to-use lightweight, thin umbrellas became popular.

According to the "Nihon Shoki", canopies were introduced to Japan in 552 （Kinmei 13) as a contribution by King Seong of the Baekje kingdom. These were large, silken umbrellas held over aristocrats. It is said that the personal, hand-held umbrella was brought by the international merchant Naya Sukezaemon, also known as Luzon, in the year 1594 (Bunroku 3). These began to be widespread first in the Edo period, and these umbrellas were taken up especially by girls whose hairdos would get messed up by wearing umbrella-hats directly on their heads. During the Jōkyō/Genroku eras (1684-1704), long-handled umbrellas and ‣bull's-eye patterned umbrellas became popular, followed by large, black-roofed umbrellas in the Shōtoku era (1711-16), and autumn-colored umbrellas and and refined bull's-eye patterned umbrellas in the Kyōhō era (1716-36). Crudely made umbrellas called ‣'bangasa' (coarse oilpaper umbrellas) were easy to use. Sunshades, on the other, were in popular use in the Bunroku era (1592-96) as well, and picture-decorated parasols were trendy from the Enpō era to the Jōkyō era (1673-88). Umbrellas thus became widespread, and merchants appeared who would buy quantities of second-hand umbrellas, old sets of umbrella ribs, and umbrellas that had become unusable due to torn paper. In Edo the umbrellas would be bought back, but in Kyoto and Osaka they would mostly be exchanged for earthenware teapots or clay dolls. The old ribs would be cleaned in a rib-shop, dropped off at an umbrella shop for repair, and brought back to life as a restored umbrella. Western-style umbrellas were first brought by British merchants in 1859 (Ansei 6), and as Japan entered the Meiji era, the so-called ‣'kōmorigasa,' or western-style umbrella, came to symbolize Japan's westernization; this umbrella was popularized in the 1880s (Meiji 10s).

[The Modern Umbrella]　The development of the western-style umbrella after WW2 is remarkable; in 1949, a vinyl umbrella came to the market using a vinyl film imported from America、and this became explosively popular. In 1953, the nylon western-style umbrella started being produced domestically. The spring-style folding umbrella was developed in 1954, and the golden age of folding umbrellas using nylon material began. In 1958, furthermore,a 'jump umbrella' was prototyped, which could be operated with one hand while entering and exiting a car; this became widespread in 1961, and accounted for 70-80% of the modern gentleman's non-folding umbrellas. Famous designer-brand western-style umbrellas appeared around 1972. Western-style umbrella sizes are expressed in terms of the length of the main ribs; formerly men's umbrellas were 63-66 centimeters (24.8 - 26 inches) and women's umbrellas were 55 centimeters (21.7 inches), and they all had 10 to 12 ribs. Afterwards they were made much lighter, and 60 centimeter (23.6 inch) men's umbrellas, 50 centimeter (19.7 inch) women's umbrellas, and umbrellas with 8-10 ribs each became more common. However, lately larger umbrellas have come to be preferred. Japanese-style umbrellas reached their peak between, with around 35,000,000 produced annually, 3-6 times the number of western-style umbrellas. Production dropped during the war, but in 1949-1950 close to 35,000,000 were again being produced, about 15,000,000 of those being made in Kanochou in Gifu City, which has a history of making them stretching back to the Kan'ei era (1624-44). However, after that, the production of Japanese-style umbrellas dropped off drastically. The current demand for western-style umbrellas in Japan is about 65,000,000 per year, including imports.

Kikuta Takashi

Note the ‣ symbol - this indicates other entries to read for more information. For example, in the umbrella entry, one sees ‣蛇の目傘. There is an entry on that style of umbrella (a traditional paper umbrella with a bull's-eye design) in volume 6, on page 1305. I've included here the illustration from that entry.

The entry for "Saint Louis" is found in volume 8, on page 804:

セント・ルイス

アメリカ合衆国ミズーリ州の最大都市。人口45万3085で４５％が黒人、大都市域人口235万5276（1980。全米12位）。州東部、ミシシッピ川西岸に位置し、大都市域は対岸のイリノイ州へも延び、イースト・セント・ルイスなどの衛星都市群をもつ。ミズーリ川とミシシッピ川本流の合流点のすぐ下流位置し、1764年にフランスの毛皮商人が取引所を建設、地名はフランス王ルイ9世にちなむ。開拓初期以来、水上交通の要衝として発展、現在もハイウェー、鉄道、航空路の結節点。 州東部最大の中心で、西部のカンザス・シティと州の商圏を二分する。また、デトロイトに次ぐ自動車工業の中心地で、フォード、GMなどの工場がある。マクダネル・ダグラス航空会社の本社もある。靴、ビール、機械などの工業、農産物の集散などの商業活動も盛んである。西部開拓史関係の資料を集めた博物館 Museum of Westward Expansion があり、西部にはワシントン大学がある。

Saint Louis

The largest city in the state of Missouri in the United States of America. The population is 453,085, of which 45% is black. The greater metropolitan area has a population of 2,355,276 (1980 - 12th place nationwide). Located in the eastern part of the state, on the western bank of the Mississippi River, the greater metropolitan area also stretches onto the eastern bank into the state of Illinois, containing a group of satellite cities like East St Louis. Located just downstream of the confluence point of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, it was established in 1764 by French fur traders as a trading post; its name is connected to the French king Louis the 9th. Since its early days, aquatic travel played an important role in the city's development; the modern city is also an important highway, railroad, and airway center. The state's largest business centers are split between this city, the largest center in the eastern part of the state, and Kansas City, located in the western part. The city is second only to Detroit as a center for automobile manufacturing, with factories for Ford, GM, etc. It is the headquarters for the McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company. Prosperous commercial activities also include the manufacture of shoes, beer, machinery, etc. as well as the distribution of agricultural products. There is the 'Museum of Westward Expansion,' which is a museum collecting primary source documents pertaining to the history of the western pioneers. In the western part of the city is Washington University.

The Student's Cyclopædia (1900)

Bran

General Details

Title: The Student's Cyclopædia
Volumes: 2
Language: English
Publisher: H. M. Dixon & Co.
Year: 1900
Pages: 1,503

The Student's Cyclopædia: A Ready Reference Library for School and Home Embracing History, Biography, Geography, Discovery, Invention, Arts, Sciences, Literature was published in 1900 in St. Louis (the location of publication may have played a small role in my decision to purchase this work). The goal of this encyclopedia is to be compact and written in a language a twelve year old could understand: "many parents have bought some one of the large cyclopædias, only to find that it was written for mature and educated minds, and is entirely beyond the understanding of the young. [...] While childish language has been avoided, care has been taken to admit no words or forms of expression which will not be understood by intelligent boys and girls of twelve years of age. Only such features of scientific subjects are presented as can be expressed in popular terms" (iii). One bit of the preface that made me chuckle was the admission on the part of the editor to using other encyclopedias to write this one: "Free use has been made of many works, and especially of the larger cyclopædias, as: American Cyclopædia, Johnson's Universal Cyclopædia, The Encyclopædia Britannica and the new edition of Chambers Encyclopædia" (iv).

The entries are fairly short and some are written in a fairly entertaining manner. I imagine the style would anger straight-fact-loving Mr. Greeley from Johnson's Universal Cyclopædia, but I bet most twelve-year-olds (and adults) would prefer reading from this sometimes dramatic and opinionated work. An entry on the ancient city "Abydos," for example, contains this snippet about Xerxes: "When his bridge of boats nearly a mile in length, was swept away by a storm, he punished the sea by inflicting three hundred lashes and casting chains into his waves" (volume 1, page 3). The article on "Samuel Johnson" describes his dealings with Lord Chesterfield in this manner: "From 1747 to 1755 he was working away on his famous Dictionary. Just when the huge undertaking was nearly done, a nobleman whose help at an earlier time had been refused Johnson, wished to patronize the writer and his work. To this, Johnson replied in the famous letter of Feb. 7, 1755, which is perhaps the finest piece of indignant writing on record" (volume 1, page 601).

There are small illustrations scattered throughout, as well as a few full-page plates, all in black and white. There are no maps. This is a small encyclopedia and text occupies the vast majority of it. At the end of the second volume is a thorough index.

Sample Entries

I attempt to look up "umbrella" and "Saint Louis" in each of the reference works I feature on this site in order to provide an fair comparison between them. There is no entry on "umbrella" or "parasol" in this encyclopedia. The entry on "Saint Louis" is in volume 2 and occupies pages 1133 and 1134.

St. Louis (sent lou'is), the chief city of the Mississippi valley, and the fifth of the United States, is in Missouri, on the west bank of the Mississippi river, 21 miles south of the mouth of the Missouri. The city stands many feet above the river, built on three terraces, the third terrace being 200 feet high. It has a river frontage of 19 miles, and covers 62½ square miles. Water is taken from the Mississippi river, the water works having a capacity of 50,000,000 gallons daily, which will soon be doubled. Only electric lighting is used; and there are cable, electric and horse railroads. Eighteen railroads enter the new union depot, and an electric railroad is being built between St. Louis and Chicago. The Eads bridge over the Mississippi was opened in 1874, and is 1,524 feet long. The Merchants' steel bridge, opened in 1890, is 2,450 feet long, including approaches.

Among the fine public buildings are the new city hall, costing over $1,500,000, the exposition building, four courts, the merchants' exchange, court house, Union Trust building, Equitable building, Southern and Planters' hotel, the United States arsenal, Roman Catholic cathedral and St. George's church (Episcopalian). The public squares and parks occupy over 2,000 acres. Forest park is the largest, containing 1,372 acres; Tower Grove park, in which is a botanical garden, is one of the finest in the country. The exposition is open every fall, and is one of the best yearly fairs in the United States.

St. Louis spends over $1,000,000 a year on its public schools, which are attended by 162,878 pupils. St. Louis University has 34 professors and 435 students; its buildings are new, and it has a library of 25,000 volumes. Washington University includes a college, polytechnic school, law school, school of botany and school of fine arts; it has 104 professors, and 1,450 students. The museum of fine arts is housed in a handsome building. The chief libraries are the public school library (75,000 volumes), and the mercantile library (68,000 volumes).

St. Louis's growth is due to its river trade, though now it is equally important as a railroad center. It receives over 10,000,000 tons of freight yearly and ships over 6,000,000 tons. It manufactures more tobacco than any city in the world; its other chief manufactures are beer, and boots and shoes.

In 1764 a company of merchants headed by Pierre Ligueste Lacléde, who had been given by the director-general of Louisiana the right to trade with the Indians on the Missouri, made a settlement at St. Louis. It was taken possession of by Spanish troops in 1768 and with the rest of Louisiana became a part of the United States in 1803. In 1780 it was attacked by a large body of Indians, who were driven off. For many years it was only a trading post for the fur traders. The first newspaper was started in 1808; and a year later it became a town. The city suffered from cholera in 1832, and from cholera and fire in 1849. Population, 451,770. See Billon's Annals of St. Louis in Its Early Days.