Hey Grandpop, What's a "Cyclopedia"?

(gorse of course)

One of a handful of "inherited" books lying around the house when I was a kid, along with Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, was a battered copy of a (sadly long-gone) "cyclopedia" of, as I recall, "useful and practical knowledge." I've poked around online and found a number of similar books, all from the late 1800s (which as I recall was the date of the book we had back then). This one is very close to what I remember, although I don't think "entertaining" was in the title.

But the insides were something to consider! How to buy clothes, how to take care of a horse, parlor games and magic tricks, all kinds of strange housekeeping and everyday remedy information, and, as I still relate to students, a "'language of flowers" that felt so British I could almost hear the wind whistle across the gorse. If you must buy one crumbly old book this Holiday Season, you could do worse. Besides, haven't you always wanted to know how to discern if your hat has been properly blocked?