The company has announced that henceforth it will concentrate on their online encyclopaedias, and that the last-ever print edition – a mighty, 32-volume set weighing 129 pounds – won’t be replaced when the last 8,000 sets are finally sold.

Devotees of reference books have seen the writing on the wall – sorry, the characters on the digital screen – for some time. They’ve watched as the hungry maw of the internet gobbles up sales of dictionaries, thesauruses and “companions,” and the Wikipedia site has become – in a single decade – the only destination for seekers after factual knowledge of both humanities and science subjects.

But what a rich history has been lost with the end of these great heavy tombstones. They were first published in Edinburgh between 1768 and 1771 and, by 1809, had grown from three volumes to 20. Noting the public’s thirst for knowledge, the owners signed up eminent writers and subject experts, and started an unprecedented project of continuous revision. In the 20th century, the books hit the big time. Their American owners had the articles simplified for a wider market, and proceeded to flog them to everyone. Door-to-door salesmen, their car-boots straining under the weight of erudition, urged householders to invest in the 20-volume sets because they contained “the Sum of Human Knowledge.” Sure they cost several hundred quid/dollars (they said) – but isn’t your child’s education worth the money?

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