Delft
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Delft. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
one of the most ancient towns of South Holland, on the Schie, 8 miles N. W. of Rotterdam; is intersected by numerous canals. Delft was noted from the 16th to the 18th century for its delftware, but has now entirely lost its high reputation for this manufacture, and not more than a few dozen persons are engaged in making earthenware. Of several interesting buildings, one, the townhall (1618) is a picturesque and richly adorned edifice. The New Church (1476) contains a monument, more ornate than tasteful, to the memory of William I. of Orange, who was assassinated here, July 10, 1584. It also contains the tomb of Grotius, and the burial-vaults of the present royal family of Holland. The Old Church, a building of some note, contains the tomb of the naturalist, Leeuwenhoek, and of the great admiral, Van Tromp. Delft has also a State arsenal, an East Indian college, a polytechnic, and several hospitals. There are some manufactures of fine carpets, casks, baskets. Pop. about 35,000.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a city of Holland. It is situated on a level plain eight miles northwest of Rotterdam. It is intersected by canals crossed by half a hundred bridges. Present population, 44,000. Delft was once a fortified city, the seat of the Orange family, whose burial place is here. It is noted as the place of the manufacture of Delft pottery during the fourteenth century. The ware was made of a clay found here. It was ground, mixed, and allowed to ripen. It was then molded on the potter's wheel and partially burned. An enamel made of sea kelp, sand, lead, and tin, with cobalt for blue, was brought to the consistency of thick paste and then applied. The delicate ware was then inclosed in coarse pottery to protect it from smoke, and was kilnburned. Old Dutch ware of the Delft sort is prized highly by collectors. See Pottery
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Neither account mentions Johannes Vermeer, who was born, worked and was buried in Delft's Old Church; when Collier's wrote in 1921 he was a specialist's enthusiasm, whereas today his handful of paintings, above all the Girl with a Pearl Earring in nearby The Hague, make him the single biggest draw to the city. Collier's reported that Delft had "entirely lost its high reputation" for delftware, with "not more than a few dozen persons" making earthenware; the trade survived as a tourist and luxury craft, with the 1653 firm De Porceleyne Fles still producing hand-painted Royal Delft. The modest "polytechnic" of 1921 is now Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands' largest engineering school with tens of thousands of students and the town's dominant institution, while the East Indian college for colonial officials has long since vanished with the empire it served. Population has roughly doubled from the 35,000-44,000 the two accounts give to over 100,000, but the canals, bridges, the 1618 town hall and the tombs of William of Orange, Grotius, Leeuwenhoek and Van Tromp are all still there to be seen.
Written for this edition, 2026.