LAROUSSE

in full Librairie Larousse Parisian publishing house specializing in encyclopaedias and dictionaries, founded in 1852 by Augustin Boyer and Pierre Larousse, editor of the Grand Dictionnaire universel du XIXe sicle (15 vol., 186676; 2 supplements, 1878 and 1890). The many reference works later published by descendants of the founders derived from Larousse's Grand Dictionnaire. The Grand Dictionnaire universel du XIXe sicle, in the compilation of which Larousse was guided by the motto vulgariser sans abaisser (popularize without debasing), combined features of the dictionary and of the general short-entry encyclopaedia in offering concise, alphabetically arranged entries that included etymologies and examples of usage of the title words. At the turn of the century, under the direction of Larousse's nephew, Claude Aug, the Nouveau Larousse illustr (7 vol., 18971904; supplement, 1907), which was a modernized form of the Grand Dictionnaire, further exploited the Larousse short-entry style. It was especially noted for its articles on individual works of art. In 1907 Aug inaugurated a serial supplement to the Larousse publications, the monthly Larousse mensuel illustr: revue encyclopdique universelle (190740 and 194757), in which the articles are relatively long. The Larousse du XXe sicle (6 vol., 192733; revised 194850; supplement, 1954), edited by Paul Aug, devoted special attention to World War I. In adopting a more popular approach and in using shorter entries than Pierre Larousse's Grand Dictionnaire, it resembled the Nouveau Larousse illustr, of which it approximated a new edition. The Grand Larousse encyclopdique (10 vol., 196064), also edited by Paul Aug, succeeded the three previous major Larousse encyclopaedias but was the first to be profusely illustrated and to offer comprehensive biographies. Other Larousse publications include shorter general encyclopaedias, such as the Larousse pour tous: dictionnaire encyclopdique (2 vol., 1908), superseded in 1922 by the two-volume Larousse universel: dictionnaire encyclopdique; dictionaries, notably Pierre Larousse's Dictionnaire de la langue franaise (1856) and its successor, Petit Larousse illustr (1906), edited by Claude Aug; children's encyclopaedias, including the topically arranged Encyclopdie pour la jeunesse (5 vol., 195862); and the topically arranged encyclopaedia Grand Mmento encyclopdique (2 vol., 193637), re-edited as the Encyclopdie Larousse mthodique (1955). The Pequeo Larousse ilustrado (1912), in later printings entitled Nuevo Pequeo Larousse ilustrado, is an adaptation in Spanish of the Petit Larousse illustr.