The New Werner Twentieth Century Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature, Science, History, Geography, Commerce, Biography, Discovery and Invention ... with New American Supplement

The New Werner Twentieth Century Edition was published at the turn of the 20th century to serve as an accessible, comprehensive reference work for a rapidly modernizing American audience. It was produced by the Werner Company of Akron, Ohio, which held the rights to reprint the ninth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. This edition was notable for its inclusion of a substantial 'New American Supplement,' designed to integrate updated information on American history, geography, and industrial progress into the broader scholarly framework of the original British-compiled volumes.

The design of this edition emphasized authority and weight, often bound in sturdy materials to suit the home libraries of the era. By incorporating the American Supplement, the publishers sought to bridge the gap between traditional European intellectual scholarship and the specific, burgeoning needs of the American public. While criticized by some contemporaries for the complexities surrounding its copyright and editorial independence from the original British publishers, it remains a significant artifact of the information boom that defined the late Victorian and Edwardian book trade.