Harmsworth Popular Science[edit]

This was a fortnightly (14 days) series of magazine publications forming an encyclopa of science and technology published in the early years of the 20 century, and completed about 1913 in the dying days of the British Empire. It was humanist and modernist in tone, and supported the then-fashionable ideas of eugenics andfree market economics. Britain (especially Birmingham was considered to be "the workshop of the world" and it celebrated British innovation from Darwin to Marconi

Bound Edition[edit]

There may have been several bound editions of Harmsworth Popular Science, and one of them, in red cloth & leather (illustrated left) is in seven volumes. This edition was edited by Arthur Mee and published in London by the Educational Book Company.

Volume 1 contains a foreword entitled "The Story of This Book" which outlines the various groups:

Group 1 THE UNIVERSE "The Making of worlds" which speculates about the place of Earth in Creation
Group 2 THE EARTH "The Earth we live on" which starts with a molten ball of iron...
Group 3 LIFE "Life takes possession" which is Darwinian in tone
Group 4 PLANT LIFE "The Earth Alive" which has a pre-creationist style ""The Hand that made..."
Group 5 ANIMAL LIFE "The forerunners of Man" From fossils to speculation about earlier intelligent life forms
Group 6 MAN " Man Appears" speculated about the origin and evolution of human brains
Group 7 HEALTH "Man Builds up Strength" covers sanitation, diet and modern medicine such as X-ray
Group 8 POWER "Man finds Power" Covers steam, and 'new' central generation of electricity
Group 9 INDUSTRY "Man Uses Power" Britain . the workshop of the world theme
Group 10 COMMERCE "Man Buys and Sells" The dawn of world trade "America sells cotton..."
Group 11 SOCIETY "Man organizes society" foresees "The Federation of the World"
Group 12 EUGENICS "Man Creates The Future" discredited by Nazi Human breeding programs, this section is full of hope that "our children (will pass through) the Gates of Dawn"

Volume 7 contains (quote): "Science Biographies embracing 500 lives of biologists... explorers... thinkers...inventors....pioneers....chemists...physicists...economists...astronomers...geologists...with bibliography of 1000 Scientific Books"

Editors[edit]

As well as Arthur Mee, the following are listed:

Caleb Williams Saleeby, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Doctor of medicine, Scientific author, lecturer at the Royal Institution
Leo Chiozza Money, Member of Parliament (of GB) Author and political economist
W Beach Thomas, Journalist and agricultural expert
John Derry, Journalist and educationalist (1854-1937)
Edward Wright, Writer on philosophy
Gerald Leighton Professor of pathology and bacteriology at Edinburgh University (1868-1953).
T Thorn Baker, Electrical expert. Lecturer at the Royal Institution
H. [Hamilton Fyfe], Author and journalist
Ernest A Bryant, Author of the natural history section of The Children's Encyclopedia
Ronald Campbell Macfie, Master of Arts, Author of "Science Matter and Material"
Joseph Horner, Author of technical works; member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers