The Anglo-American Cyclopaedia (1917)

The Anglo-American Cyclopaedia (New York, 1917) is a literal (but delayed and pirated) reprint of the 1902 edition of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica. Typically bound in black and gold, the cyclopaedia was originally sold door-to-door in those countries where copyright could not be enforced.

While having dinner with Borges, Bioy Casares mentions a quote by one of Uqbar's heresiarchs, who had said that "mirrors and copulation are abominable because they multiply the number of men." When questioned about this quote's veracity, Casares claims that it appears in The Anglo-American Cyclopaedia.

There are two versions of the cyclopaedia encountered by Borges and Casares. The first set happens to exist in the villa on Gaona Street where the two of them are dining. In this set, Volume XLVI ends with an article on Uppsala. Then Volume XLVII begins with an article on Ural-Altaic languages. There is no mention of Uqbar, or any of its variant spellings.

The second set of the cyclopaedia belongs to Casares and exists in his home in Buenos Aires. Volume XLVI of this version does indeed contain an entry on Uqbar.

Versions of The Anglo-American Cyclopaedia
The only difference between the Gaona Street cyclopaedia and the set belonging to Casares is the ending of Volume XLVI. In the latter version, the volume has 921 pages instead of 917, and the entry for Uppsala is followed by four more pages on Uqbar.

Borges also writes that his friend Carlos Mastronardi came across a third copy of the cyclopaedia in a second-hand bookshop on Corrientes and Talcahuano. Mastronardi went in and looked up Volume XLVI. "Naturally, there was not the slightest mention of Uqbar."