Page 18 - JOA-Oct-21

“ arly to bed and early to rise, The word “almanac” first appeared in
makes a man healthy, wealthy, a treatise by the English philosopher
Eand wise.” This well-known Roger Bacon in 1267 where it referred to
piece of advice was attributed to Ben a set of tables detailing movements of
Franklin and appeared in Poor heavenly bodies including the moon. The
Richard’s Almanack (sic) in 1735. Italian form is almanacco, French
The American farmer’s almanacs almanach, and in Spanish it is almanaque.
that readers have come to know and According to the New English Dictionary,
love have included anecdotes, the word is probably connected with the
poetry, pleasantries, stories, and Arabic al-manakh and the Latin manacus,
proverbs along with long-range a sundial.
weather forecasts for over two hun- By the late 16th century, almanacs
dred years. Farmer’s almanacs have a were outselling every English-language
special place in Americana, but book except for one: the Bible. It was
almanacs have been published all around this time they started offering
around the world for hundreds of advice on farming such as favorable dates
years before Europeans began for planting or harvesting crops and
settling in North America. Abraham Lincoln showing an breeding livestock. They also made long-
An almanac is an annual 1857 almanac to the jury range weather predictions similar to
publication of current information during the famous Armstrong today’s almanacs.
The title page of the first about one or multiple subjects. It murder trial in the spring of
Farmer’s Almanac, 1793. offers information such as weather 1858. The original of this Colonial America
forecasts, timetables for the rising Norman Rockwell painting It wasn’t long after English settlers
hangs in The Norman
and setting of the sun and moon, eclipses and meteor showers, farmers’ Rockwell Museum in arrived in America that almanacs
planting dates, tide tables, moveable holidays, and other tabular data Stockbridge, Massachusetts. appeared and quickly gained popularity.
often arranged according to the calendar. For centuries farming was In 1639 An Almanac Calculated for New
not a hobby for most, but a matter of life and death. Almanacs England was first published by William Pierce in Cambridge,
were considered an important tool farmers would use to plan for the Massachusetts. By the later part of the 17th century and the beginning
coming year. of the 18th century, more and more almanacs began being published in
The invention of the printing press made almanacs accessible to cities throughout the colonies. Nathaniel Ames of Dedham,
more people, but they had already existed for centuries. Massachusetts, and James Franklin of Rhode Island began publishing
popular almanacs in 1726 and 1728 respectively.
Ancient Times But it was Benjamin Franklin himself, brother of James, who began
Long before Europeans made publishing one of the most popular almanacs of this time period. Poor
their way to America, almanacs Richard’s Almanack entertained and instructed its readers for more than
existed in countries all over the 25 years from 1732 until 1757. It was a sensation and reached more
world and in many languages. It is than 10,000 readers per issue. In addition to the tables and weather
no secret that ancient people forecasts people had come to expect, he included puzzles, poetry,
tracked the movement of heavenly proverbs, and a running story that encouraged readers to anticipate the
bodies. The earliest almanacs were following year’s edition.
tables that tracked the position of By 1816 it is estimated that over 500 different almanac titles were
the sun, moon, planets, and stars. being published. The term “farmer’s almanac” was being used generally
Tablets dating back to the fourth the way we use the word “dictionary” today. They were localized, and
century BCE and used by the differentiated themselves by their editors. George Washington and
Babylonians applied complex Thomas Jefferson were known to record their daily activities in their
formulas to predict the movement copies of the Virginia Almanac.
and position of Jupiter. Eventually, the Old Farmer’s Almanac founded by Robert B.
Nostradamus published a series of Thomas in 1792, and the Farmer’s Almanac founded by David Young
almanacs in the 1550s with his Woodcut of the Homo Signorum, or in 1818 proved themselves to be the most durable. Both have been
own prophetic visions and wisdom. Zodiac Man, from a 1580 almanac. predicting the weather, offering advice, and entertaining readers for
photo: Wikipedia Commons over 200 years and are still in production today.
16 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles