The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-01-10
ALMANACS OF AMERICA.
THEIR PROPHECIES, ron AND
TARIED DOGGEREL.


The rirsaoa aud Traa,cai Almanac, Il.
Contemporaries. Predecessor. and Sue
eessors-Giimpses at some OF the vsri-
Gus Treasures OF an Almanac Collector.
The history If almanacs, should IL ever come
TO DO written. ought to prove both interesting
and amusing. Tho curious nature OF thes.
publications. the seriousness with which their
authors took themselves. and the credulity Of
tho public which accepted their predictions
for Gospel truth, are all matters for shrewd
mme
In the possession Of the writer is q large and
q varied collection of old almanacs. chiefly
American. extending back to q period far
anterior TO tho Revolution. They are yellow
with yeers. thurnbed and dop-eared, veritable
mummies Of the ephemeral literature TO which
they belonged. The hands that held and the
eyes that scanned them az dead and dust long
since; but these little brown pamphlets remain
TO amuse collectors with the quaint conccits
and simple ~vanities of our forebears.
Tho word almanac comes from the Arabic
al Manah." namely. "the sun dial" Fr.nr
Roger Bacon OF nunpowder fame would appear
to have used It first In his "MaRnum OPUS"
Ammo pomini 1867. Tho earliest printed al
manac was that OF the astronomer and astrolo-
ger Purbach. published at Vienna in 1457.
Continuous calendar almanacs were inaugu-
rated by Engel Of Vienna In 14ol. and to Nos
trodamus. the notorious Magician is due
tho discrcdit OF having Introduced so-called
prophecies as an essen tial part OF these publ
cations. In England. until 1870. almanacs
we're the monopoly OF the Stationers' company.
and miserable impostures hey invariably
were. The next one comes to tho United States.
their predecessors. the North American Colo
MES. and the many quaint and curious al
MANAGES thercunto appertnining.
The earliest American almanac was pub
lished at Philadelphia In 1887 By William
Bradford. It remained the most popular work
OF Its kind until. in l732, benjamin Franklin's
famous Poor Richards Almanack began to
Dust 1t from it's supremacy. Other notable bid
alinanacs OF colonial America and the United
States werewatson's Almanack OF Connecticut.
Roger Sherman's Astronomical Diary and Al
manack printed at Now London by T. Green.
Nehemiah Strong's Almanack Of Hartford.
Conn: Beers's Almanack. also Of Hartford,
and the Connecticut Pocket Al nanac.
1t may be Of interest to glance through one
tby no means the Oldest or auaintest) Of the
quaint old slmanacs. or "almanacks" now at
he writer's clbo ". Its antique cover bears the
following inscription:
An Astronomical Diary. or ar Aimanack
.or the year OF our Lord Christ. 1853, being tho
FIRST after Bissextile. or Lean Year: And In
the Twenty-sixth year Of the Reign OF our most
Gracious Sovereign. King George III. Where
In is contained the Lunations. Eclipfes. Mutual
Afpects OF the Planets. sun. Moons riding n
Setting. riding, Setting 6 Southins OF the
Seven Stars. Time OF High Water. Courts. oh
fcrvablo Days, spsing Tides. Judgment OF the
weather. &C., Calculated for tho Lat. OF Al
Deg. North & the Meridian of New London In
Connecticut. by Roger Sherman. New Lon
don: Printed and Sold by I. Green. 1883"
The almanac begins with a calendar Of tho
months. each month being headed with a
auotation, apposiie or ctheEwi.e. COLLECTED
prog nosticated." and storms OF rain or snow
are prophesled twelve. months of with a COCK
sureur's which the United States Weather
Bureau well might envy. The quotation for
August runs:
nri..aal.,. tree:oorn sons; How happy they
Cuder n Georges mild and geGile sway.
kins whose " d'like mind Z, big with Joy,
II must have required q considerable stretch
Of imaeination to ascribe TO George IL. a god
like mind" The almanac ends thow does
history repeat itselfb With an editorial upon
III. currency question, which. IL seems, WINS n
subject OF much iiery discussion In New hamp-
shire. Rhode Island. and Co9nectIeut Just
Rhode Island and New Hampshire for allow
ing their bills OF credit 70 deprcciate:
currently paid at the rate OF 81 shillings old
tenor. for an ounce of silver; but now IA shil-
iinss is the least sum thnt u spanish dollar can
~pennywcigNt and an half. At which, rate an
ounce would cost 73s.. so that the deprecia-
Ell 900 old ter or upon the whole OF what has
been in the hands OF the inhabitants OF Con-
thos, Two Governments. for which they have
received no benent' Honesty Is the best
Nehemiah Strong was. by his W account
published his AimAnack at Springfield, Mass.
from. the shop OF Edwin Gray In 1904, u year
which he describes As from the creation
l743. and the eighteenth OF American lndepen-
M. strong. late Prorsfor Of Mathematics
and Natural Phylotophy in Yale, Col eGe:"" In
17Dg strong moved his Alman .sk to Hartford,
Usher. lie still remained late Professor OF
Yale co!less," howeyer' although he spell.
later Rsr'0S {" islo, E stions q" continued to Be S Sfsts
Professor. &c." and TO publish a, asr;iord:
zodiacal charts OF the human BODY rude
S wSSaSqsu aHg ny:, on each the m ,DT,i page sss ,l Tas
a .doe1erel. poem entitled Tho Monk
and the Jes:r and 81. SGe e amused to
conversion and subseausnt dToSninr, TO pre.
vent relapse. which IL sti!l doing duty IN comic
are are mir mingled With anecdotes and sprisStis
verses the latter satirizinR ladies' headdrcss
IN mennsGa an and !hsA'rs S,l Ty the s,s ws' moIo s, ,hs
ESen wstsen,s Register Ind Almaneck of
""hsn III p'o-
phecy. Over the month OF June. Watson
writes "America is governed by Mars, Great
Britain oy Venus; this same Mars and Venus
have a meeting this mouth In the sign Gemini.
but as Mars was never subiugated to runarchial
power It's 70 be hoped he will bravo 10 out md
opDose every femalc article to circumvent
him.
The almanac Qives a list OF the gallant on
GERS of Connecticut, who had participated in
the glorious campaign OF l1I6:" and among
them one finds thar OF Col. Benedict Arnold'
destined q few years later to hoco ut an exc
Grated traitor. Andrew Beers. Phiiomath,"
was another important almanac maker. Hts
United states Aluianack, published at Hart
ford, first by Nathaniel Patten. and after 1900
by Hudson and GOODWIN. was IA popular ar
fair. his first effort. in 1883. bears an limos
Ing address on astronomy, and nm appeal to
the courteous Resder." He says:
As for astrology concerning tho weather,
/ have this apology TO make, however.
To hit on't mot miss ont has becn my intent,
II l don't hit the day It's q mistake In tho print,
"A table o. tho weight and value OF coins
as they now do pass IN New England. New York,
and Pennsylvania. includes the guinea. rs
toic tal-2-0l. moidorc tel-lB-Ol, single 10.
names teS -0-ol, doublnon ga s-0l, EnCli'h
shilling. and milied dollar. "A biographical
Description OF the World" informs us that in