Enquire Within Upon Everything
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Enquire Within Upon Everything was a how-to book for domestic life, first published in 1856 by Houlston and Sons of Paternoster Square in London, and then continuously reprinted in many new and updated editions as additional information and articles were added. The book was created with the intention of providing encyclopedic information on a topics as diverse as etiquette, parlour games, cake recipes, laundry tips, holiday preparation and first aid:
- "Whether You Wish to Model a Flower in Wax;
- to Study the Rules of Etiquette;
- to Serve a Relish for Breakfast or Supper;
- to Plan a Dinner for a Large Party or a Small One;
- to Cure a Headache;
- to Make a Will;
- to Get Married;
- to Bury a Relative;
- Whatever You May Wish to Do, Make, or to Enjoy,
- Provided Your Desire has Relation to the Necessities of Domestic Life,
- I Hope You will not Fail to 'Enquire Within.'" (Editor's introduction.)
The book was a popular addition to the Victorian (and later post-Victorian) home; by the 89th edition, some 1,180,000 copies had been published. With the release of the 113th edition, this number had risen to over 1,500,000.
Tim Berners-Lee apparently named his precursor of the World Wide Web, ENQUIRE, after this work. He said that its title was suggestive of magic and the book served as a portal to a world of information. He thought it not a perfect analogy for the Web, but a primitive starting point.
