Bordeaux
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Bordeaux. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city and port of France, capital of the department of Gironde, on the Caronne river, about 70 miles from the sea. It is built in a crescent form round a bend of the river, which is here lined with fine quays and crossed by a magnificent stone bridge, and consists of an old and a new town. The former is mostly composed of irregular squares and narrow, crooked streets; while the latter is laid out with great regularity, and on a scale of magnificence hardly surpassed by any provincial town in Europe. In the old town are the Cathedral of St. André, St. Michael's Church, with its superb front of florid Gothic, the Hotel de Ville, and the Palais de Justice. There are extensive and finely planted promenades. Its position gives it admirable facilities for trade, and enables it to rank next co. Ill., in 1865; received his education after Marseilles and Havre in respect of the tonnage employed. Large vessels sail up to the town. The chief exports are wine and brandy; sugar and other colonial produce and wood are the chief imports. Shipbuilding is the chief industry, and there are sugar refineries, woolen and cotton mills, potteries, soap works, distilleries, etc. Bordeaux is the Burdigala of the Romans. By the marriage of Eleanor, daughter of the last Duke of Aquitaine to Henry II. of England, Bordeaux was transferred to the English crown. Under Charles VII., in 1451, it was restored again to France. Montaigne and Montesquieu were born in the neighborhood; the latter is buried in the Church of St. Bernard. In the World War (1914-1918) Bordeaux became a great military port for the Allies, where troops were concentrated and supplies for the armies were received. Pop. about 262,000.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
bor-do', a city in the south-western part of France. It is situated on the Gironde River, about seventy miles from the Bay of Biscay. It may be reached by ships of heavy draft. It lies on the bend of the river with three miles of quays for the accommodation of shipping. The river is crossed by one of the finest stone bridges in Europe. It rests on seventeen arches, and was finished in 1821 at a cost of $1,200,000. A number of public buildings, including a city hall, custom house, exchange, and a fine Gothic cathedral, are of interest. Bordeaux is far enough from Paris, and has had a large enough part in the history of France, to have a large library, museum, botanic garden, observatory, and art gallery of its own. The city lies in the center of a productive region famous for its red wines, known usually in the trade under the name of claret. Shipbuilding, weaving, and the making of pottery and soap are among the important industries. Bordeaux was at one time a possession of the English crown. It was the residence of Edward, the Black Prince, for a time. Montaigne, Montesquieu, and Rosa Bonheur were natives of the immediate vicinity. Statues have been raised in their honor. The modern city is a prosperous commercial emporium, engaged in commerce with the French colonies. The population in 1906 was about 251,917. In population Bordeaux is the fourth city of France; in importance as a port it ranks third. See France 2026 Editor's Note: Bordeaux is now synonymous with wine, and with a ranking made in the entry's own century that never went away: the Classification of 1855 , drawn up for a Paris exhibition, still sorts the great châteaux into growths and still moves prices. The 18th-century riverfront the entry admires became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. (Ed: BR 2026-06-28)