Hübner, Johann: Reales Staats-, Zeitungs- und Conversations-Lexicon. Darinnen so wohl Die Religionen und geistlichen Orden, die Reiche und Staaten, Meere, Seen, Insuln, Flüsse, Städte, Festungen, Schlösser, Häfen, Berge, Vorgebürge, Pässe und Wälder, die Linien Deutscher hoher Häuser, die in verschiedenen Ländern übliche so geistliche als weltliche Ritter-Orden, Wapen, Reichs-Täge, gelehrte Societäten, Gerichte, Civil- und Militair-Chargen zu Wasser und Lande, der Unterscheid der Meilen, vornehmsten Müntzen, Maaß und Gewichte, die zur Kriegs-Bau-Kunst, Artillerie, Feld-Lägern, Schlacht-Ordnungen, Belagerungen, Schiffahrten, Unterscheid der Schiffe und der dazu gehörigen Sachen gebräuchlichen Benennungen; Als auch Andere in Zeitungen und täglicher Conversation. Leipzig: Gleditsch 1744. Quarto, pp. 12, then 2332 double colums of text on 1166 pages, 10 pages index, 41 page supplement, engraved frontispiece, 8 folded plates with one being a folded map of the world showing California as an island. In original vellum with inked spine titles, rubbing to vellum, wear to outer margin of map and one plate, owner's stamp on title page, original owners inked signature with 1748 date on first leaf, book plate of Henry von Wackerbarth on pastedown, book is in a modern slip case, very good.

An example of an early encyclopedia. Johann Huebner (1668-1731) was a German writer and teacher who single most important work to science was his above encyclopedia. The first person to arrange encyclopedic matter according to an alphabetical system was Suidas, during whose time (tenth and eleventh centuries) the necessity of general information on Byzantine culture made itself felt, especially during the reign of Constantine VII. The lexicon of Suidas was first imitated by Furetière (Rotterdam, 1690); followed by several others and then Hübner wrote the first German example of an encyclopedia with his, "Reales-Staats-Zeitungs- und Konversations-Lexikon". Hübner gave as the reason for naming his work "Reales-Staats-Zeitungs- und Konversations-Lexikon" the fact that "it was to contain no professorial learning but all items of refined learning needed in daily intercourse with educated people". As it was printed chiefly to satisfy people of a curious turn of mind, it was confined principally to geography, while history was excluded as a special science.