Knowledge in a Nutshell

This charming little book is a real gem that is for some reason really hard to find these days. It consists of five main parts: English dictionary with around 14,000 words, world atlas with 128 pages of maps, gazetteer with more than 10,000 places, desk prompter "comprising of information of daily requisition" and address index.

The book was published by David Bryce of Glasgow - well known publisher of miniature books in the late 19th to early 20th century. The maps, sometimes hardly readable without a magnifying glass, were produced by W. A. K. Johnoston and are followed with data from "The Last Census" - list of cities and countries with the number of inhabitants from 1910 census. The gazetteer of places includes a short description of each place, like for example: Brooklyn - c. s.pt. New York, U.S., on Long Isl. opp. New York City, connected with it by Suspension Bridge, 5987 ft. long, and steam ferries, practically part of New York; contains U.S. Navy yard, 40 acres; 806,343

The part of the book with general information spans over 120 pages and provides various information including: common latin and french phrases, common errors in writing, information about weights and measures with conversion tables, army ranks, public holidays and foreign calendars, percentage of alcohol in wines and spirits, list of American presidents, list of fictious names, list of longest railway tunnels in UK, foreign currencies and slang terms for money, cautions about visiting sick people, list of poisons and their antidotes, how to write a will and more.