The first edition of this work was also published by Dobson, printed in 1790. Attributed to Jedidiah Morse, American geographer, the book is an extraction from the Encyclopedia, or a Dictionary of Arts, Sciences and Miscellaneous Literature, published by Dobson in parts during the 1790s. The fold-out map is signed "Scot" at the lower right, indicating it was engraved by Robert Scot, whose name is associated with a handful of maps printed in Philadelphia in the 1790s. The map is labelled Pl. XV although it is the only illustration in the book; presumably this was the plate number in the Encyclopedia. Copies of this book generally have a map of North America as well, not present in this volume.
