 Photography is listed for the first time.This edition also featured the first American contributor to the "Britannica", Edward Everett, who wrote a 40,000-word hagiographic biography of George Washington

The consequences of reducing the costs of production of the 8th edition can be seen today in surviving sets.With only 402 plates, this edition has the fewest since the second edition, and far fewer woodcuts within the text pages were used than in the 7th edition.