This bio-bibliographical encyclopedia of English and foreign literature includes many articles on physicians from the ancient world up to Watt's time, and is an extraordinary achievement for one man. Typically the first sentence summarizes the author's life and death, followed by listing of writings more or less detailed. Watt's comments on specific editions and translations indicate a remarkable familiarity with the history of medical literature, and occasionally with the rarity of certain editions. The work has been estimated to include citations of more than 200,000 books, pamphlets and periodicals on the widest range of subjects. The first and second volumes contain an alphabetical listing of over 40,000 authors and their biographical details. Full length titles of works, date and place of publication, and information on translations and subsequent editions are provided for each author. The entries covering the earliest printed texts contain details of British and foreign printers. Volumes three and four provide an encyclopedic index to volumes one and two. The works are listed within 30,000 subject areas, in chronological order of publication. Subjects, authors and titles are fully cross-referenced using an ingenious indexing system. Robert Watt devoted 25 years of his life to the Bibliotheca's compilation. He studied classical languages and philosophy at Glasgow University. Later he became a student of anatomy and theology at Edinburgh, and practised as a physician. His interest in the history of medicine led him to begin compiling the Bibliotheca, which he extended to include works on law, history, language, philosophy, science, technology, travel and geography, and classical literature. Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link.