A world of wonder
Very pleased yesterday to pick up 8 of the 10 volumes of Arthur Mee's classic The Children's Enclyclopaedia for just £6.For those unaware of it TCE dates from the inter-war period (though it was still produced into the 1960s and indeed my version is from 1946) and is a wonderful example of the best and worst things about British Empire visionaries. Mee fills the pages with challenging and interesting stories from around the world, puzzles, questions and even poetry and French lessons.
It also, as Wikipedia notes, is written with a very Empire certainty of view, with "religious views, eugenics, and blatant sexism and occasional offhand racism.", though "Offsetting this was a moderate and liberal standpoint in many areas."
I'll bring some good examples of both those as I read them. For now I'll note it starts with a colour insert of the Peoples of the World in national costume. Tiny and at the back of a lonq snaking queue are the Pgymies, then the Hottentots, before arriving at the front with the French and Americans.
posted by Matthew @ 1/16/2005 09:27:00 AM
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