B chapter.indd - Charles Babbage Institute - University of Minnesota

Babbage, Charles
a portion of the Encyclopaedia Metropolitana. 3
volumes.
Year: 1836
Place: London
Publisher: Baldwin and Braddock
Edition: 2nd
Language: English
Figures: 87 engraved plates bound at end of v.3
Binding: contemporary leather
Pagination: v.1: pp. Iii–viii, 412; v.2: pp. 413–828; pp. 829-834
Collation: v.1: π 3 B–L 4 M 2 N–3G 4 ; v.2: 3H–5N 4 ; v.3: 5O 3
Size: 274x208 mm
Reference: Van S CBCP, #70; Babb CBLP, #71, #73; Ran
ODC, p. 405; MCK CBCW, v. 10
In 1829, Peter Barlow wrote an extensive tract on the
subject of machinery as applied to manufacturing for
the Encyclopedia Metropolitana, for which Charles
Babbage provided the introduction. The two items were
also published separately, as here (first edition in 1829,
third in 1845). Babbage had a very strong interest in
manufacturing techniques and the first section of his
classic book On the economy of machinery and
manufactures, published in 1832, was based on this
introduction. He also rewrote this eighty-four page
introduction substantially for each new edition.
Characteristically, the treatise is thorough and
comprehensive. It ranges from the gathering and
regulating of power needed to properly operate machinery
to a discussion of the division of labor and the needs
for capital in a manufacturing enterprise, concluding
Erwin Tomash Library
B 27
Babbage, Charles
B 28
with a checklist of data to be acquired when gathering
information about a factory and its production of goods.
Illustrations available:
Title page
B 28
Babbage, Charles (1791–1871)
Letter from Mr. Babbage to the members of the British
Association for the Promotion of Science.
Year: 1839
Place: London
Publisher: Richard Clay
Edition: 1st
Language: English
Binding: original paper wrappers
Pagination: pp. 15, [1]
Size: 213x135 mm
Reference: Van S CBCP, #70; Babb CBLP, #71, #73; Ran
ODC, p. 405; MCK CBCW, v. 4, pp. 151–159
This small pamphlet puts forth Babbage’s explanation of
a disagreement between himself and the other members
of the Board of the British Association. He had been
asked to let his name stand for president, but his friend
John Herschel had also been asked, and this led both
men to withdraw their names. Subsequent disagreements
also led Babbage to resign from the board. The BAAS
had been founded partly in the belief that the Royal
Society had become too political—apparently the BAAS
had also fallen into that state.
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