The extraordinary rise and inexplicable decline of Lit & Phils

The article examines the history of the rise and decline of public repositories of knowledge and learned societies in Great Britain in the 19th-century. Topics discussed include the founding of the Literary and Philosophical Society or Lit & Phils, the society's emphasis on teaching skills, systemic education and promiscuous learning, tax exemption of learned societies under the Scientific Societies Bill, and Lit & Phils as testament to the prosperity of individual towns and cities.