Thomas, Robert B. 1844-1854 The Farmer's Almanack, calculated on a New and Improved Plan. 11 issues bound. Boston: Jenks & Palmer | Jenks, Hickling & Swan, 1844-1854. First Editions. [12096]
Eleven issues, some with wrappers, as follows: 1844 complete with wrapper; 1845 complete with wrapper; 1846 complete with wrapper; 1847 complete with wrapper; 1848 complete with wrapper; 1849 complete with wrapper; 1850 begins p. 3; 1851 issue begins p. 7 and is bound out of order (includes map of New England); 1852 begins p. 3; 1853 complete with wrapper; 1854 complete with wrapper. About 48 pages to each complete issue. Stains, marginal notes, tattered page edges, a very used group. Bound 1945 in quarter black cloth, purple marbled boards, hand-written title labels on spine, tight. Bookplate of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, stamped "withdrawn." Fair. Hardcover.
Numbers 52-62. A good group of 19th century Farmer's Almanacs. Several have maps of New England; all have decorative pieces at the head of each month.
Robert Bailey Thomas (1766-1846), b. Grafton, Massachusetts Bay. He worked on his father's farm, became a teacher, then a bookbinder and bookseller. In 1792 he issued his first Old Farmer's Almanack; it contained (and still includes) agricultural advice, astronomical calculations, witty aphorisms, and long-range weather forecasts. It is today recognized as the longest continuously published periodical in North America.
