Joyce E. Chaplin of Harvard yesterday gave a fascinating talk for our #History of the #Book seminar on her research into manuscript weather annotations in #EarlyAm almanacs, 1646-1820.
Here is an almanac for 1828 from Upper Austria. Clearly, it was heavily used yet some one for some reason preserved it.
The image serves to locate the calendar and its intended purpose in the social and intellectual world of the day, between learned and popular culture.
The #printer-#publisher Joseph Greis owned a historic Gothic house at Grünmarkt 7, occupied rom 1732 into C20 by printers, who passed the property along to others in the trade through marriage. Greis (b. 1773) began as a compositor (typesetter) in the shop, acquiring it from Franz Joseph Medter in 1804. 1827, when he issued the almanac, was a banner year for him: he married (2nd time) in January, & on 26 September, he opened the town's first #bookshop (Stadtplatz 23). https://www.steyr.at/system/web/zusatzseite.aspx?detailonr=219055926
On the cover of this Austrian #almanac published by Joseph Greis, a middle-class man, identifiable by his garb, observes the heavens with a telescope--emblem of science and erudition. Next to him, a peasant with a spade stands and extends a free hand: in greeting? explanation? We cannot tell.
Taken together, though, the two figures certainly encompass and indicate the standard content of the #book: calendars for each month, along with meteorological information and folk wisdom.
As a product of a Catholic empire, the #almanac begins with crown & church
left: birthdays of the members of the royal family of Austria
right:
top: the Numerus aureus, solar & lunar cycles, and the like, necessary for the calculation of religious holidays in the Gregorian calendar (these would have required the use of additional tables or other information), as well as the time from Christmas to Ash Wednesday.
middle: moveable feast days, according to the Roman Missal.
bottom: Ember Days.
Each monthly opening of the #almanac began with the names of the months in both modern & traditional Germanic form, and a woodcut emblem including the zodiacal sign & characteristic activities of the season--here, for January: Virgo, a domestic meal, and warming oneself by the fire.
Additional information included length of the day, phases of moon, sunrise, & weather conditions. Each day is marked by its saint's name, and the weeks, by a relevant Scriptural passage (red crosses=fast days)
The pages following the monthly #calendars in this #almanac by Joseph Greis provided additional information on phases of the moon and length of daylight, as well as traditional peasant folk wisdom.
E.g. for January:
When on S. Vincent's there's sunshine, one therefore hopes for good wine.
And for February:
When it rains after the new moon, then it will rain for a full month.
Here's a later calendar of a very different sort:
Calendrier Gastronomique: Histories de cuisine et cuisine de l’histoire par Marius Dutrey, dessins par Pierre Camin (Londres: Frederick Muller, 1938).
This is number 88 out of a special edition of 250 copies printed by Hazell, Watson & Viney (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazell,_Watson_and_Viney)
Dutrey was a chef who worked in leading French & British hotels between 1918 and 1962. La Coupe d'Or Internationale d'Art Culinaire bears his name.
Each monthly entry in Maurice Dutrey's Calendrier Gastronomique (London, 1938) begins with a colored illustration by Pierre Camin (1908-96) depicting #foods of the season above a piece of #poetry.
The following pages describe foods & culinary habits for the month.
At the end of the #book is a list of menus, with a lunch & dinner suggestion for each month. This section also contains menus from festive occasions, including the coronation of George VI.
It's now December, so here is a sample: