The Universal Dictionary of Biography and Mythology

by Joseph Thomas

2010 · Cosimo, Inc.

Once considered the largest and most extensive source of biographies in the English language, The Universal Dictionary of Biography and Mythology contains information on nearly every historical figure, notable name, and important subject of mythology from throughout the world prior to the 20th century. Spanning all fields of human effort-from literature and the arts to philosophy and science-and touching on topics from multiple areas of mythological study, including Norse, Greek, and Roman, this extraordinary reference guide continues to be one of the most thorough and accurate collections of biographical data ever created. Combining mythological and biographical entries into a single, comprehensive list, and incorporating a unique system of indicating pronunciation and orthography, The Universal Dictionary of Biography and Mythology offers readers an unparalleled record of historically significant identities, from the obscure and forgotten newsmakers of yesteryear to the highly celebrated shapers of history that remain influential today. Volume II (CLU-HYS) of this exquisite four-volume set includes information on such names as Clytemnestra, Constantine the Great, Charles Dickens, Stoic philosopher Euphrates, English author John Fox, Galileo, Hercules, and many more. JOSEPH THOMAS (1811-1891) also wrote A Comprehensive Medical Dictionary, various pronouncing vocabularies of biographical and geographical names, and a system of pronunciation for Lippincott's Pronouncing Gazetteer of the World.

Pioneer Photographers from the Mississippi to the Continental Divide

by Peter E. Palmquist, Thomas R. Kailbourn

2005 · Stanford University Press

This biographical dictionary of some 3,000 photographers (and workers in related trades), active in a vast area of North America before 1866, is based on extensive research and enhanced by some 240 illustrations, most of which are published here for the first time. The territory covered extends from central Canada through Mexico and includes the United States from the Mississippi River west to, but not including, the Rocky Mountain states. Together, this volume and its predecessor, Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: A Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865, comprise an exhaustive survey of early photographers in North America and Central America, excluding the eastern United States and eastern Canada. This work is distinguished by the large number of entries, by the appealing narratives that cover both professional and private lives of the subjects, and by the painstaking documentation. It will be an essential reference work for historians, libraries, and museums, as well as for collectors of and dealers in early American photography. In addition to photographers, the book includes photographic printers, retouchers, and colorists, and manufacturers and sellers of photographic apparatus and stock. Because creators of moving panoramas and optical amusements such as dioramas and magic lantern performances often fashioned their works after photographs, the people behind those exhibitions are also discussed.