Original: In this era, the Britannica moved from being a three-volume set (1st edition) compiled by one young editor—William Smellie— The Britannica's 1st edition is described as "deplorably inaccurate and unscientific" in places.
Simplified: In this era, the Britannica started as three-book set ( in the 1st edition) written by one young editor—William Smellie— Many people said that the first edition of the encyclopedia was very inaccurate, and had many problems in it.