Calendars
Through the nineteenth century, the terms "calendar" and "almanac"
were used interchangeably, with many publications using both words
in their
titles and subtitles. These publications often included a calendar,
which
listed the days of the week, holidays, and the like, while they also
included
predictions, astronomical data, and other general information.
Though calendars and almanacs were published together well into
the twentieth
century, calendars were also published separately beginning in the
nineteenth
century. They came in a variety of formats from a circular shape,
to a
vertical listing of days which remained popular through the
nineteenth
century, to what is commonly seen today: a rectangular format. The
vertical
calendar was usually set up in a way that left little room for any
other
printed material. The rectangular shaped calendar could be easily
produced
on a single card or in a booklet form. It became popular for
merchants
to use these calendar styles to advertise their
businesses. Similarly,
in the mid to late nineteenth-century, almanacs that were
published in
booklet form, or on a single sheet, some featured
advertisements.
A small group of calendars and almanacs are housed in one box in
the
Graphic Arts Department. This box includes a group of single sheet
calendars
dating from 1842 though 1880. Earlier calendars and almanacs can
be found
in the broadside collection. Also included are several early
nineteenth-century
"revolving almanacs." The remainder of the American Antiquarian
Society's
extensive collection of published almanacs are
individually catalogued online
and
organized by state. For an inventory of the items in the Graphic
Arts
department, click here.
- Terri Tremblay, Assistant Curator of Graphic Arts
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Centennial revolving almanac (1837)
* Calendar
inventory
For current information on the cataloging status of this and
other AAS collections, choose "Collection Access" below.
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