London Almanack for the Year of Christ 1796

1796. 64mo, 1 1/4 x 1 3/8 in. (57 x 33 mm), 24pp. Very beautiful publisher's Venetian style mosaic style inlaid morocco in green, red, and blue, with gilt decorations, central medallion with horse and rider; red end-papers, a.e.g. Engraved throughout with a 4 page image 'VIEW of the inside of the HALL at CARLTON HOUSE.' Tax stamp to title-page; pages clean of writing and binding square and tight, which is exceptional in an object of daily use. Housed in a matching slipcase which bears some signs of wear and abrasions but is in good form.

[ESTC T127704; Welsh, Bibliography of Miniature Books, 4590; Spielmann 318]
For each work ESTC records a collation of 26 leaves printed on one side only, but our copy appear to be complete and may represent a variant, where leaves are pasted to form pages, as in the copy held in the collection of the Morgan Library [PML 253658].

A lovely and miniature almanac in its original slipcase and in particularly good shape.
These ephemeral objects became very popular in the early modern era and have their roots in the Babylonian tablets that laid out what people might expect on any given day of the year. In the pages of almanacs, readers found calendars and counsel—everything from reminders about religious feast days to details of the lunar cycle, and they were used in very large numbers. To distinguish themselves, some readers started demanding very small, curious, and beautifully decorated editions, and these then became showpieces, examples of refined craftsmanship, be displayed in a refined society to demonstrate the owner's sophistication.
Besides the 12 month pages showing moon phases, major holidays and saint days, and high tide times at London Bridge, this almanac contains a Table of Kings & Queens Reign, a list of Lord Mayors and Sheriffs, a List of Holidays, and of Current Coins.

Item number: 429

Price: $900.00

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