Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers (English: Encyclopedia, or a systematic dictionary of the sciences, arts, and crafts) was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. 11 volumes of illustrations, were issued from 1762 to 1772. It was inspired by the success of E. Chambers's British Cyclopaedia; or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1728).

Under the direction of chief editor Denis Diderot aided by Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, it was opposed by conservative ecclesiastics and government officials and subjected to censorship, The Encyclopédie attracted articles from many important thinkers of the time and leading figures of the Enlightenment, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu. In its skepticism, its emphasis on scientific determinism, and its criticism of the abuses perpetrated by contemporary legal, judicial, and clerical institutions, the work had widespread influence as an expression of progressive thought prior to the French Revolution.

Presented here on one amazing data DVD are 2127 high quality, high resolution images from the Encyclopédie. These illustrations cover a wide range of subject matter with an emphasis towards technical illustration (machinery, tools, weapons, architecture, technology of the 18th century etc) but also including for example images illustrating transport, ornamentation, ironwork, keys, tailoring, furniture, theatres, footwear, plants, insects, maps, sheet music, birds, fish, shells, fossils, geological features, mining, equestrianism, ships, flags, silverware, bridges, hunting, anatomy, fencing, clocks and many more.

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