Royal Lisence and Copyright for Encyclopaedia Londinesis

Royal Lisence and Copyright for Encyclopaedia Londinesis

Anonymous, British, 19th century

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This object is housed in an album of British trade cards from the collections of Bella C. Landauer, Ambrose Heal, and others. John Wilkes of Milland House, Sussex published the Ecyclopaedia Londinesis; or, universal directory of arts, sciences, and literature between about 1801 and 1828. The Encyclopaedia included 24 volumes with 3 volumes of copperplate engravings.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Royal Lisence and Copyright for Encyclopaedia LondinesisRoyal Lisence and Copyright for Encyclopaedia LondinesisRoyal Lisence and Copyright for Encyclopaedia LondinesisRoyal Lisence and Copyright for Encyclopaedia LondinesisRoyal Lisence and Copyright for Encyclopaedia Londinesis

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.