New-York tribune., 1897-01-03
NEW THINGS IN CALENDARS,
ATTRACTIVE DEVICES FOR MARKING THE
FLIGHT OF TIME.

FLIGHT OF TIME.
| II might be interesting TO know. and would Ger
tainlv he as valuable as much Of the statistica
information that is gathered. how many thousands
of people In this country arc still continuing te
write 1896 in defiance Of all the calculations or the
| almanac C. makers. The regularity with whch thi'
| occurs every year seems to indicate that people
have scarcely time to grow accustomed to the last
figure of the year date before that changes 10
something new What they will do In l9o wnich
combination looks absurdly wrong and uniamii-
lar, can only be imagined IT cannot be denied tnat
the calendar however humble 1t may be- Is OF great
service In these early days OF the year Placed IN
conspicuous position on the desk. 1t is constant
reminder of the correct date and an exceileht pre-
ventive of the common old mistake
The variety among the calendars displayed every
year is very large and the designs grow more
artistic each season. Etchings and engraVings
copied from the works Of the best artists no"
adorn the pasteboard sheets which were Formerly
covered with CHEAP work of the "chromo" order
Water-coors are reproduced with such success that
in many instances the Scene or figure looks ike an
original study. Besides the copies OF wel-knowh
pictures large numbers of the designs are made by
artists especially for the calendars.
particularly attractive novelty this year is
calendar comprising twelve sheets Of pasteboard
one for each month. which are made In the form OF
old Dutch tiles. The scenes upon them are from
Dutch life are In the same style as those upon
the Delft china The same china tones Of blue and
white form the only coloring on the calendar
Birchbark In large sheets, with leaves for each
month. has been much used this season. and seems
to have been extremely popular. 1t is more expen-
sive than one would suppose owing probably to its
decacy and the difficulty OF fashoning and deco
rating IT.
Many Of the calendars given holiday presents
within the last few days have been in French or
German. The designs are somewhat different from
l. ht M
means more beautiful. 1t is doubtless the novelty
OF having n calendar in a foreign language and
the delicate compliment which 1t pays to ones lIn-
gustic powers tha: have made these so popular.
Among the Calendars Of silver. wood leather and
other materials there is not much change from
year to year. While the patterns differ slightly,
they are all ma on the same general lines Some
of them rery costly but these give more
trustworthy information as to the date than do the
cheaper Indeed, they are frequently not so
trustworthy. being regarded as more for ornament
than for use. and not kept strictly up TO the times
by their owners
The calendars for each coming year may be found
in the shops many weeks beforehand, at the very
beginning of the holiday trade. From that time
they sold rapidly and the great bulk of them
Is entirely gone before New Years. Those which
left then reduced in price and sold Off
TO belsted customers. AS the weeks go
by. the price d.ops still lower any which may
remain. and calerdars even sold late five |
or six months on In the year.
The early history of calendars is exceedingly |
meagre. and in their present convenient and orna-
mental form they distinctly modern contri- |
vances. But the ancients had ways crude though |
they might be, of marking the flight of time. The |
earliest calendars which have been discovered or |
the existence OF which has been recorded. had the
numbers carved upon rods of wood or metal Some
Of the Roman calendars were inscribed upon blocks
Of stone and specimens Of this variety have been
dug up in Pompeii. An old church calendar of the
fourteenth century. illustration Of which ap-
pears in a French work on calendars and almanacs
NJ hov
wood The first printed calendar which is known |
o have been issued was for the year 1872 1t was
made by Johannes de Monte Regio. Before the end
IF tina. century they were common the contI- |
ient. but did not come into general use in Eng
and until the middle of the sixteenth century |
Thc Term common USE" however meant far less
II that time than It does at Present for owing TO
he illiteracy of large proportion of the people
alendars or any other printed matter would have
,een of use TO them