Page:EB1911 - Volume 29.djvu/8

viii the description in the text. For instance, the article "Carp," about a column in length, contains an illustration. It did not appear necessary to duplicate the reference to "Carp" in the Index, so as to indicate this figure. But if the figure had appeared elsewhere (e.g. in the article "Icthyology"), the Index would have added to its references under "Carp" a reference to the volume and page where this figure occurred, with the contraction " fig." after the reference. The reference is always specifically given, if the figure is not described in the text The Plates illustrating long articles such as Painting, Sculpture, Greek Art, Ceramics, Heraldry, Ship, &c, are indexed wherever there is no text reference, and wherever the Plate itself has a sufficiently distinctive title. Little would be gained by directing a man to such illustrations as " Faience plaque, Cnossus" under that title; but he can be directed under the name " Cnossus " to illustrations of articles found there. Or if he is interested in the works of a particular sculptor, the index will assist him more by a reference under that sculptor's name to the Plates of his works in the article "Sculpture," than by specific references to the names of works known only to experts. On the other hand, pictures, statues or other objects of interest bearing well-known distinctive names are separately indexed with their Plate references.

One other class of references calls for special notice. It has been the aim of the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica to assist readers in the interpretation of technical or unusual terms. To this end the editor has included a number of dictionary headings, i.e. short articles giving the derivation, meaning and various uses of such terms. These article headings appear as a matter of course in the Index, but a much greater number of terms, English and foreign, defined in the course of the scientific; philosophical and other articles have also been indexed. To such references the word " dict." is added by way of an indication that the information to be found will be of a dictionary rather than of an encyclopædic character.

The value of any index depends to a large extent on the fulness of its cross-references. This Index has tried to supply a reasonable number of variants to names which a reader may look for under more than one spelling. It has also indicated the relationship between family names and titles, by cross-referencing the first to the second. Under such geographical prefixes as "North," "South," "High," "Low," "Great," "Little," a general cross- reference indicates that such names are as a rule to be found reversed, eg. "Wycombe, High," except in American place-names, and a few other special cases. It should be, observed that the simple cross-reference ("Julius Caesar: see Caesar") is used only when the two sides of the reference are exactly equivalent. Other cross-references (e.g. a single peer to the family title) are in the form "see also" or "see under" An entirely new feature has been added to the Index volume of this edition for the use of those desiring to study subjects as a whole. At the conclusion of the Index proper there will be found a classified table of contents, in which the article headings in the Encyclopædia are grouped broadly according to their subjects, e.g. Geography, History, Religion, Art, and subdivided into their natural sections (e.g. Art into Painting, Sculpture, Music, Architecture). In all cases the biographical articles will be found together with the appropriate subject headings. A fuller account of the system adopted is prefixed to the table itself.

At the end of the volume is appended a complete alphabetized list of the contributors of signed articles, the principal articles being specified. This supplements the special lists prefixed to each of the twenty-eight volumes, where biographical information about the contributors is given.

JANET E. HOGARTH. J. MALCOLM MITCHELL.

L ONDON, May 5, 1911.