Reference (Bookshelf)

The Reference bookshelf contains selected subject specific atlases, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, manuals, guides, and thesauri. See Also the Project Gutenberg Reference Bookshelf for additional reference files.

Atlases

• The Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography  by Samuel Butler (1774-1839)
  For the greater convenience of the reader of Grote’s Greece and other works that ask a continual reference to maps of ancient and classical geography.

Dictionaries

Computers – Humor

• The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000  by Various
  A comprehensive A-Z compendium of hacker slang illuminating many aspects of hackish tradition, folklore, and humor, created by volunteer editors. With appendixes containing legends and fables, including “the meaning of hack,” “TV typewriters,” “a portrait of J. Random Hacker,” and bibliography of non-technical hacker literature.” – “Amusingly thought-provoking.”

Dreams

• Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted  by Gustavus Hindman Miller (1857-1929)
  Or, what’s in a dream: a scientific and practical exposition.

English - Humor

• 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue  by Francis Grose (1731-1791)
  Reprint of the author’s Lexicon balatronicum; a dictionary of buckish slang, university wit, and pickpocket eloquence (and now considerably altered and enlarged, with the modern changes and improvements, by a member of the whip club.)

• The Foolish Dictionary  by Gideon Wurdz (1875- )
  An exhausting work of reference to un-certain English words, their origin, meaning, legitimate and illegitimate use, confused by a few pictures [not included]. A tongue-in-cheek dictionary of some 500 words and their meanings.

• The Devil's Dictionary  by Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?)
  DICTIONARY, n. A malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of a language and making it hard and inelastic. This dictionary, however, is a most useful work.

Literature

• A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature  by John W. Cousin
  Brief bio sketches on 1600 English authors, including “American and Colonial writers” and their works.
• Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1
  A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook  by Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham, 1810-1897
• Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 3
  A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook  by Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham, 1810-1897

Music

• Music Notation and Terminology  by Karl Wilson Gehrkens (1882-1975)
  A comprehensive guide for students and teachers. Identifies and defines terms, symbols, abbreviations, signs, scales, tempo, and more. Plus an essay on the history of music notation and MIDI files to accompany an analysis of Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 31, No.3 .

Encyclopedias

• Burroughs’ Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889  by Barkham Burroughs
• The Nuttall Encyclopaedia, Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge (1907 ed.)  (Wikipedia article)

• Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th Edition (1911) (Wikipedia article)
  • Volume 1 of 28  "A" to "Androphagi"
    (renamed "The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia" for trademark reasons)
  • Volume 2, Part 1, Slice 1  "Andros" to "Anise"
  • Volume 4, Part 3  "Brescia" to "Bulgaria"
  • Volume 4, Part 4  "Bulgaria" to "Calgary"

Topical

• Encyclopedia of Needlework  by Dillmont, Thérèse de, (1846-1890)
  Comprehensive, illustrated compendium of detailed instructions for a wide variety of needlework from basic sewing and stitches to embroidery, mending, knitting, crochet, macramé, tatting, netting, and lace.

Handbooks, Manuals, and Guides

Business Meetings

• Robert’s Rules of Order  by Henry M. Robert (1837-1923)
  Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies. Since 1876 this has been the authoritative guide to conducting “the business of societies, conventions, and other deliberative assemblies.”

Etiquette

• The Book of Good Manners  by Walter Cox Green
  A Guide to Polite Usage for All Social Functions.
• Frost's Laws and By-Laws of American Society  by Frost, Sarah Annie
  A condensed but thorough treatise on etiquette and its usages in America, containing plain and reliable directions for deportment in every situation in life.
• The Laws of Etiquette  by A Gentleman
• Etiquette  by Agnes H. Morton
• Etiquette  by Emily Post
• Routledge's Manual of Etiquette  by George Routledge

Gourmet Dining

• The Gourmet’s Guide to Europe  by N. Newnham-Davis and Algernon Bastard
  Charming guidebook for traveling gourmets who wish to dine at selected restaurants. Includes details on ambience, specialty dishes, wines, and prices (paid in 1903) in capital cities of France, Belgium, Brussels, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Turkey, and Greece.

Military

• The Plattsburg Manual  by Olin Oglesby Ellis (1886 - )
  A Handbook for Military Training.

Phrases

• Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases  by Grenville Kleiser (1868-1953)
  A Practical Handbook Of Pertinent Expressions, Striking Similes, Literary, Commercial, Conversational, And Oratorical Terms, For The Embellishment Of Speech And Literature, And The Improvement Of The Vocabulary Of Those Persons Who Read, Write, And Speak English.

Spelling

• 1001 Questions and Answers on Orthography and Reading  by B.A. Hathaway
  

Writing

• How To Write Special Feature Articles  by Willard Grovsvenor Bleyer
  A Handbook for Reporters, Correspondents and Free-Lance Writers Who Desire to Contribute to Popular Magazines and Magazine Sections of Newspapers.

Thesaurus

• Roget’s Thesaurus  by Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869)
  First edition of this supplemented 1911 thesaurus (June 1991).