Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
Encyclopedia
The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK), founded in 1826, and wound up in 1848, was a Whiggish
London
organisation that published inexpensive texts intended to adapt scientific and similarly high-minded material for the rapidly expanding reading public. It was established mainly at the instigation of Lord Brougham with the objects of publishing information to people who were unable to obtain formal teaching, or who preferred self-education
.
An American group of the same name was founded as part of the Lyceum movement
in the United States around the same period. Its Boston branch
sponsored lectures by such speakers as Ralph Waldo Emerson
, and was active from 1829 to 1947. Henry David Thoreau
cites the Society in his essay "Walking," in which he jestingly proposes a Society for the Diffusion of Useful Ignorance.
and the middle class
, as an antidote to the more radical output of the pauper presses. The society set out to achieve this by acting as an intermediary between authors and publishers by launching several series of publications. It was run by a committee of eminent persons, and had a close association with the newly formed University College London
, as well as the numerous provincial Mechanics' Institutes
. Its printers included Baldwin & Cradock, later succeeded by Charles Knight
. The Society commissioned work and dealt with the printers, and finally distributed the publications; profits were used to continue the Society's work.
at its peak had a circulation of around 200,000 copies a week. The Society eventually wound up in 1848, though some of its works apparently continued to be published.
The Society was not without opposition, and the Literary Gazette
mounted a campaign on behalf of the book trade, supported by publications such as the Royal Lady's Magazine, who complained in the early 1830s that:
and published biweekly, its books focused on scientific topics. The first volume, an introduction to the series by Brougham, sold over 33,000 copies. However, attempts to reach the working class market were largely unsuccessful; only among the middle class was there sustained interest in popular science texts.
Like many other works in the new genre of popular scientific narratives—such as the Bridgewater Treatises and Humphry Davy
's Consolations in Travel—the books of the Library of Useful Knowledge focused on natural theology
and imbued scientific fields with concepts of progress: uniformitarianism
in geology, the nebular hypothesis in astronomy, and the scala naturae in the life sciences. According to historian James Secord, such works met a demand for "general concepts and simple laws", and in the process helped establish the authority of professional science and specialised scientific disciplines.
culture, it is not entirely uncommon to refer to the Society itself and/or its better-known publications in an attempt to lend Victorian verisimilitude.
The in-house publishing organ of the Museum of Jurassic Technology
in Los Angeles is called the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Information.
See an 1842 map distributed by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge and published by Charles Knight, Central America. II. Including Texas, California, and the northern states of Mexico / J. & C. Walker, sculpt. hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
organisation that published inexpensive texts intended to adapt scientific and similarly high-minded material for the rapidly expanding reading public. It was established mainly at the instigation of Lord Brougham with the objects of publishing information to people who were unable to obtain formal teaching, or who preferred self-education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
.
An American group of the same name was founded as part of the Lyceum movement
Lyceum movement
The lyceum movement in the United States was a trend in architecture inspired by Aristotle's Lyceum in ancient Greece....
in the United States around the same period. Its Boston branch
Boston Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
The Boston Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in Boston, Massachusetts, was founded "to promote and direct popular education by lectures and other means." Modelled after the recently formed Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in London, the Boston group's officers included...
sponsored lectures by such speakers as Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
, and was active from 1829 to 1947. Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
cites the Society in his essay "Walking," in which he jestingly proposes a Society for the Diffusion of Useful Ignorance.
Aims
SDUK publications were intended for the working classWorking class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
and the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
, as an antidote to the more radical output of the pauper presses. The society set out to achieve this by acting as an intermediary between authors and publishers by launching several series of publications. It was run by a committee of eminent persons, and had a close association with the newly formed University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, as well as the numerous provincial Mechanics' Institutes
Mechanics' Institutes
Historically, Mechanics' Institutes were educational establishments formed to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working men...
. Its printers included Baldwin & Cradock, later succeeded by Charles Knight
Charles Knight (publisher)
Charles Knight was an English publisher and author.-Early life:The son of a bookseller and printer at Windsor, he was apprenticed to his father...
. The Society commissioned work and dealt with the printers, and finally distributed the publications; profits were used to continue the Society's work.
Development
While conceived with high ideals the project gradually failed, as subscribers fell away and sale of publications declined. Charles Knight was largely responsible for what success SDUK publications did have; he engaged in extensive promotional campaigns, and worked to improve the readability of the sometimes abstruse material. Nonetheless many of the titles had little interest to readers, though the Penny MagazinePenny Magazine
The Penny Magazine, published every Saturday from 31 March 1832 to 31 October 1845, was an illustrated British magazine aimed at the working class. Charles Knight created it for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in response to Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, which started two months...
at its peak had a circulation of around 200,000 copies a week. The Society eventually wound up in 1848, though some of its works apparently continued to be published.
The Society was not without opposition, and the Literary Gazette
Literary Gazette
The Literary Gazette was a British literary magazine, established in London in 1817 with its full title being The Literary Gazette, and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences. Sometimes it appeared with the caption title, "London Literary Gazette". It was founded by the publisher Henry Colburn,...
mounted a campaign on behalf of the book trade, supported by publications such as the Royal Lady's Magazine, who complained in the early 1830s that:
Few persons are aware that the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge have done, and are still doing, more to ruin the Book trade than all the change of times, the want of money, the weight of taxes, and even the law of Libel have accomplished; yet they - a commitee of Noblemen and pretended Patriots - are permitted to go on in their unfeeling, nay, considering the hundreds of thousands engaged in the Book trade, we may add brutal, career, without interruption.
Library of Useful Knowledge
One significant set of publications by the SDUK was the Library of Useful Knowledge; sold for a sixpenceBritish sixpence coin
The sixpence, known colloquially as the tanner, or half-shilling, was a British pre-decimal coin, worth six pence, or 1/40th of a pound sterling....
and published biweekly, its books focused on scientific topics. The first volume, an introduction to the series by Brougham, sold over 33,000 copies. However, attempts to reach the working class market were largely unsuccessful; only among the middle class was there sustained interest in popular science texts.
Like many other works in the new genre of popular scientific narratives—such as the Bridgewater Treatises and Humphry Davy
Humphry Davy
Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet FRS MRIA was a British chemist and inventor. He is probably best remembered today for his discoveries of several alkali and alkaline earth metals, as well as contributions to the discoveries of the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine...
's Consolations in Travel—the books of the Library of Useful Knowledge focused on natural theology
Natural theology
Natural theology is a branch of theology based on reason and ordinary experience. Thus it is distinguished from revealed theology which is based on scripture and religious experiences of various kinds; and also from transcendental theology, theology from a priori reasoning.Marcus Terentius Varro ...
and imbued scientific fields with concepts of progress: uniformitarianism
Uniformitarianism (science)
In the philosophy of naturalism, the uniformitarianism assumption is that the same natural laws and processes that operate in the universe now, have always operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe. It has included the gradualistic concept that "the present is the...
in geology, the nebular hypothesis in astronomy, and the scala naturae in the life sciences. According to historian James Secord, such works met a demand for "general concepts and simple laws", and in the process helped establish the authority of professional science and specialised scientific disciplines.
Other SDUK publications
- Maps, primarily in a two-volume set, and prepared to a very high standard
- Penny MagazinePenny MagazineThe Penny Magazine, published every Saturday from 31 March 1832 to 31 October 1845, was an illustrated British magazine aimed at the working class. Charles Knight created it for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in response to Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, which started two months...
- Penny CyclopaediaPenny CyclopaediaThe Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge was a multi-volume encyclopedia edited by George Long and published by Charles Knight alongside the Penny Magazine. The volumes were published from 1833 to 1843.-External links:...
- British Almanac (and associated Companion)
- Library of Entertaining Knowledge
- Farmers Series, which included works by William YouattWilliam YouattWilliam Youatt , was an English veterinary surgeon.Youatt was the son of a surgeon residing at Exeter. He was educated for the nonconformist ministry. In 1810 he left Devonshire, and undertook ministerial and scholastic duties in London...
on The Dog, the horse, cattle, and sheep - Working Man's Companion
- Quarterly Journal of Education
- Gallery of Portraits
- Biographical Dictionary
In popular culture
References to the Society are rare in the modern era, but within SteampunkSteampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
culture, it is not entirely uncommon to refer to the Society itself and/or its better-known publications in an attempt to lend Victorian verisimilitude.
The in-house publishing organ of the Museum of Jurassic Technology
Museum of Jurassic Technology
The Museum of Jurassic Technology is an educational institution dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and the public appreciation of the lower jurassic...
in Los Angeles is called the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Information.
Other sources
- Mead T. Cain, 'The Maps of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: A Publishing History', Imago Mundi, Vol. 46, 1994 (1994), pp. 151-167.
- Janet Percival, 'The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, 1826-1848: A handlist of the Society's correspondence and papers', The Library of University College London, Occasional Papers, No 5 1978, ISSN 0309 3352
- James A. Secord. Victorian Sensation: The Extraordinary Publication, Reception, and Secret Authorship of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. University of Chicago Press, 2000. ISBN 0-226-74410-8
- University College LondonUniversity College LondonUniversity College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
has virtually a complete set of publications and numerous letters from authors and readers and other records.
External links
- Mathematics I., a volume in the Library of Useful Knowledge digitized by Google Book SearchGoogle Book SearchGoogle Books is a service from Google that searches the full text of books that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical character recognition, and stored in its digital database. The service was formerly known as Google Print when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October...
.
See an 1842 map distributed by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge and published by Charles Knight, Central America. II. Including Texas, California, and the northern states of Mexico / J. & C. Walker, sculpt. hosted by the Portal to Texas History.