| An Almanack is a book of useful information that may contain things like statistics, weather predictions, phases of the moon, entertaining reading and home remedies. Almanacks have been found in the ruins of many ancient civilizations, but became popular in Europe in the 1400s and were brought to America with the first colonists. The first book published in America was an almanack, and many homes only had two books - an almanack and a Bible.
|
|
|
| Most Almanacks in the 19th century contained charts with the phases of the moon and weather predictions. According to Illinois court records, an almanac once helped Abraham Lincoln win a court case. Lincoln showed the chart for the phases of the moon that stated there was a very thin sliver of moon - not enough moonlight for the star witness to have seen the murder, as he claimed to have done.
|
|
|
Almanacks have been printed for many reasons, including as political propaganda, to sell home remedies, to promote a religious point of view, or simply for entertainment. The Harrison Almanack promoted William Henry Harrison’s campaign for president, while the Crockett Almanacks pretended to be historical but were in many ways as political as they were entertaining.
|
