ALMANACS

ALMANACS. One of the first publications to issue from the press in British North America was An Almanack for New England for 1639, printed by Stephen Daye in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Almanacs have been part of American culture ever since, adapting themselves to changing times while preserving their essential character.

In addition to monthly calendars and tables of astronomical events, almanacs included advice for farmers, medical and domestic recipes, and miscellaneous literary fare. Unlike their English counterparts, which often emphasized astrology and necromancy, the earliest almanacs in America stressed practical instruction and improvement. This was due partly to the Puritans, and partly to the environment of the more enlightened eighteenth century. Even so, most almanacs featured the "man of signs" or "the Anatomy," a crude wood-cut of a human figure, with corresponding links to the signs of the zodiac governing various parts of the body.

As printing spread throughout the colonies, so too did almanacs, which became an essential aspect of the printing business in colonial America. Timothy Green, James Franklin (elder brother of Benjamin), Daniel Fowle, and William Bradford were among several printers who originated almanacs in the colonies. By their very nature almanacs had to be adapted for local conditions and could not be imported. Almanacs were also used effectively in the propaganda wars at the time of the American Revolution. Nathaniel Ames, Benjamin West, Isaiah Thomas, Benjamin Edes, John Gill, Sarah Goddard, and Nathan Daboll produced almanacs that supported the patriots' cause through verse, essays, and graphic illustrations. The most famous compiler of almanacs in the eighteenth century was unquestionably Benjamin Franklin. Assuming the mantle of Richard Saunders, Franklin issued his first Poor Richard in Philadelphia in 1733.

In the nineteenth century, almanacs moved west with the country and continued to guide their readers through the seasons of life. As a rule, almanacs came with an explanation of the calendar, a list of eclipses for the year, the common notes, the names and characters of planets, signs of the zodiac, and the anatomy. They also included such practical things as interest tables, courts and court days, lists of government officials, population tables, postal rates, bank officers, exchange rates, and times and places of religious meetings. For studying the development of local economies on the frontier, almanacs are useful sources. Beyond the statistical matters, almanacs entered the realm of literature, broadly defined. Epigram, ballad, song, satire, elegy, ode, epistle, essay, recipe, joke, legend, proverb, belief, and anecdote were present in abundance.

Given such a fixed form, almanacs were surprisingly fluid and adaptable. They were frequently put into the service of various mass movements of the nineteenth century, such as temperance, antislavery, politics, and evangelical Christianity. Their ubiquity made them the natural standard-bearers for many popular crusades. Both the American Tract Society and the American Temperance Union issued hundreds of thousands of almanacs suitable for use in families, while the major protestant denominations also issued their annual registers.

But other almanacs were not intended for the parlor. As political campaigns became more sophisticated in their use of print, readers were treated to a steady stream of titles, such as the Jackson Almanac, Young Hickory Almanac, Hard Cider and Log Cabin Almanac, and Rough and Ready Almanac. While most of the campaign almanacs were filled with cartoons and invective, the Whig Almanac, published by Horace Greeley in New York, had a quasi-official status and was looked to by all parties for its accurate election returns.

Comic almanacs were also in vogue in the nineteenth century. Some tried to imitate the polite Comick Almanack of the English caricaturist George Cruikshank, but the most popular were not concerned with being polite. Turner and Fisher in Philadelphia and Robert Elton in New York were specialists in this line. With puns like "allmy-nack" in their titles, these publications carried bawdy jokes, ethnic and racial slurs, and humorous tales and anecdotes. The Davy Crockett almanacs were a genre unto themselves, combining aspects of the political and comic almanacs in one package.

After the Civil War, advertising, especially for patent medicines, drove the sales of most almanacs. Ayer's American Almanac, published by Dr. J. C. Ayer and Co., "practical and analytical chemists" of Lowell, Massachusetts, used the almanac for testimonials from satisfied users of their cathartic pills, sarsaparilla, ague cure, hair vigor, cherry pectoral, and other nostrums. This commercial emphasis continued into the twenty-first century.

In the twentieth century American corporations embraced the almanac. Ford Motor Company, Bell Telephone, Kellogg's, Seagram's, and Magnolia Petroleum are prominent examples. By sponsoring an almanac, corporations could find new audiences for their products and hope to induce brand loyalty through association. Almanacs also gained in popularity as reference tools. The World Almanac and the New York Times Almanac were well respected and frequently consulted for their accurate information. Regional publications, such as the Texas Almanac, published by the Dallas Morning News, reached targeted audiences. Religious sponsorship of almanacs continued to flourish; the Deseret News Church Almanac, published by the Latter-Day Saints in Salt Lake City, is a notable example. The Sports Illustrated Almanac appealed both to sports fans and barroom wagerers.

While specialized almanacs were abundant in the early twenty-first century, some almanacs continued much as they always had. The Agricultural Almanac of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, began publication in 1817. The Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack, of Hagerstown, Maryland, was established in 1797. Both would be recognizable to their founders. The Old Farmer's Almanac, of Dublin, New Hampshire, became a bit glossier and thicker than its predecessors, but even Robert Bailey Thomas, the "old farmer" who founded the series in 1792, would find in its pages much that would be familiar to him.

Andrew Ellicott wrote in the Maryland Almanack for 1783: "One year passeth away and another cometh—so likewise 'tis with Almanacks—they are annual productions, whose destination and usefulness is temporary, and afterwards are thrown by and consigned to oblivion … it is no wonder, when they become old almanacks, that we frequently see them made use of by the pastry-cooks, or flying in the tail of the school-boy's kite." Historians, as well as cooks and kite fliers, can make good use of old almanacs, which reflect the passing years through the lens of popular culture. No other publication has been present on the American scene as long. Intended to be temporary, almanacs remain enduring sources for many lines of inquiry, from the colonial period to the modern era.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Drake, Milton. Almanacs of the United States. New York: Scarecrow, 1962.

Kittredge, George Lyman. The Old Farmer and His Almanac: Being Some Observations on Life and Manners in New England a Hundred Years Ago. Boston: Ware, 1904.

Sagendorph, Robb. America and Her Almanacs: Wit, Wisdom, and Weather 1639–1970. Dublin, N.H.: Yankee, 1970.

Stowell, Marion Barber. Early American Almanacs: The Colonial Weekday Bible. New York: B. Franklin, 1977.

RussellMartin

See alsoPoor Richard's Almanac ; andvol. 9:Maxims from Poor Richard's Almanack .

almanacs were, technically, tables of astronomical and astrological events of the coming year, and as such had existed since antiquity; and by the 17th cent. in England, with the advent of printing, they were the most popular literary form, containing a wide range of material. They flourished particularly strongly from 1640 to 1700, when they engaged in political, social, and religious controversy, playing an active part in the ferment of the times. Well-known publishers and compilers of almanacs included Richard Allestree (active between 1617 and 1643); Lilly; John Gadbury (1627–1704), astrologer and physician; John Partridge (1644–1715); and Francis Moore, father of Old Moore. In the 18th cent. growing scepticism and a declining interest in astrology led to a loss of vitality in the form. Both Old Moore and Whitaker's Almanack (see Whitaker) continue today.

11. Almanacs

See also 25. ASTRONOMY ; 65. CALENDAR

almanagist

a person who compiles almanacs.

ephemeris

an astronomical almanac giving, as an aid to the astronomer and navigator, the locations of celestial bodies for each day of the year.