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Quid (encyclopedia)
Encyclopedia
Quid is a French
encyclopedia
, established in 1963 by Dominique Frémy
. It was published annually between 1963 and 2007, first by Plon
(1963-1974) and later by Éditions Robert Laffont
(1975-2007), and was the most popular encyclopedic reference work in France
.
The presentation is very compressed, and abbreviations are used extensively in telegraph style. It uses very thin paper to get all the information into one volume. It is published each year in one volume about the size of a large dictionary. The motto of the work is "tout sur tout ... Et tout de suite " (roughly translated as: "All about everything ... and right away"). Examples of the precise information included in Quid are: a) the use of moustaches among Austrian mailmen is forbidden to avoid them being confused with military officers; b) in 1850 there were 1,400,000 inhabitants in Finland
, and c) in the West, a woman spends an average of 100 days of her life in ironing.
was published by Plon
in the first quarter of 1963 was sold in 20,000 copies. It was a 632-page illustrations-free paperback. In addition to a brief table of contents, the book
included a 10-page index. The author
introduced it as a “complete, up-to-date, handy and easy-to-read” book
. He announced the book would be published yearly. The next edition
was published in the third quarter of 1964: the book was made of a cardboard binding and was a little bit larger (824 pages). The first editions were cosigned by Michèle Frémy, Dominique Frémy
’s wife. The encyclopedia became larger over the years, reaching the size of a large dictionary
. Each edition now needs the contribution of around 12,000 specialists.
The 2007 edition of Quid cost €32; its 2,176 pages contained 2,500,000 items about 650 topics. It sold only about 100,000 copies, compared to more than 400,000 in the 1990s. In February 2008, the 2008 edition was canceled by the publisher, Robert Laffont
, which said that print encyclopedias can no longer compete with the free information available on the internet. Frémy, the founder of Quid, said that he would find another publisher and intended to publish a 2009 edition for Christmas 2009.
with map
s and 6,000 lexical entries on the 36,380 French
communes with details about their history, geography, tourist attractions and economic life.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
, established in 1963 by Dominique Frémy
Dominique Frémy
Dominique Frémy was the creator of the Quid encyclopedia. His spouse Michèle and son Fabrice participated in writing it as well....
. It was published annually between 1963 and 2007, first by Plon
Plon (publisher)
Plon is a French book publishing company, founded in 1852 by Henri Plon and his two brothers.The Plon family were Walloons coming from Nivelle, France. One of their ancestors is probably the Danish typographer Jehan Plon who lived at the end of the 16th century.-History:The Editions Plon were...
(1963-1974) and later by Éditions Robert Laffont
Éditions Robert Laffont
Éditions Robert Laffont is a book publishing company in France founded in 1941 by Robert Laffont. Its publications are distributed in almost all francophone countries, but mainly in France, Canada and in Belgium....
(1975-2007), and was the most popular encyclopedic reference work in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The presentation is very compressed, and abbreviations are used extensively in telegraph style. It uses very thin paper to get all the information into one volume. It is published each year in one volume about the size of a large dictionary. The motto of the work is "tout sur tout ... Et tout de suite " (roughly translated as: "All about everything ... and right away"). Examples of the precise information included in Quid are: a) the use of moustaches among Austrian mailmen is forbidden to avoid them being confused with military officers; b) in 1850 there were 1,400,000 inhabitants in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, and c) in the West, a woman spends an average of 100 days of her life in ironing.
History
The first editionEdition
In printmaking, an edition is a number of prints struck from one plate, usually at the same time. This is the meaning covered by this article...
was published by Plon
Plon (publisher)
Plon is a French book publishing company, founded in 1852 by Henri Plon and his two brothers.The Plon family were Walloons coming from Nivelle, France. One of their ancestors is probably the Danish typographer Jehan Plon who lived at the end of the 16th century.-History:The Editions Plon were...
in the first quarter of 1963 was sold in 20,000 copies. It was a 632-page illustrations-free paperback. In addition to a brief table of contents, the book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
included a 10-page index. The author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
introduced it as a “complete, up-to-date, handy and easy-to-read” book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
. He announced the book would be published yearly. The next edition
Edition
In printmaking, an edition is a number of prints struck from one plate, usually at the same time. This is the meaning covered by this article...
was published in the third quarter of 1964: the book was made of a cardboard binding and was a little bit larger (824 pages). The first editions were cosigned by Michèle Frémy, Dominique Frémy
Dominique Frémy
Dominique Frémy was the creator of the Quid encyclopedia. His spouse Michèle and son Fabrice participated in writing it as well....
’s wife. The encyclopedia became larger over the years, reaching the size of a large dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
. Each edition now needs the contribution of around 12,000 specialists.
The 2007 edition of Quid cost €32; its 2,176 pages contained 2,500,000 items about 650 topics. It sold only about 100,000 copies, compared to more than 400,000 in the 1990s. In February 2008, the 2008 edition was canceled by the publisher, Robert Laffont
Éditions Robert Laffont
Éditions Robert Laffont is a book publishing company in France founded in 1941 by Robert Laffont. Its publications are distributed in almost all francophone countries, but mainly in France, Canada and in Belgium....
, which said that print encyclopedias can no longer compete with the free information available on the internet. Frémy, the founder of Quid, said that he would find another publisher and intended to publish a 2009 edition for Christmas 2009.
Internet
For 10 years, Quid has also been on the Internet. In addition to the complete current issue, it offers a daily news website, a world atlasAtlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a map of Earth or a region of Earth, but there are atlases of the other planets in the Solar System. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats...
with map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
s and 6,000 lexical entries on the 36,380 French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
communes with details about their history, geography, tourist attractions and economic life.
Special editions
| Title | Subject |
|---|---|
| Grand Quid illustré (18 volumes) | Illustrations |
| Quid de mai 68 | May 1968 in France |
| Quid de Proust | Marcel Proust Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu... |
| Quid de Maupassant | Guy de Maupassant Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents.... |
| Quid d'Alexandre Dumas | Alexandre Dumas |
| Quid de la Tour Eiffel | Eiffel Tower Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world... |
| Quid des Présidents de la République | Presidents of France |
| Quid : le multimédia (colour supplement with Quid 1996) | Multimedia Multimedia Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or... |
| Quid Monde : CD-Rom sur les états du monde with Quid 1997 | List of countries |