Revolutionary brag and some questions (long)

This past weekend I purchased a stack of old newspapers from an estate
sale. I had a chance to look through the stack and decided to take a
chance. I figured the supply of these was miniscule, but for all I
knew the demand was even smaller.

Upon further investigation and research, I've decided to brag about
it. The most bragworthy items I've identified are old almanacs from
New England:

An unknown almanack for 1768, including a broadside (?) regarding John
Wilkes, Esquire

The New England Almanack, 1769, by Abraham Weatherwise, Providence RI

The New England Almanack, 1771, by Benjamin West, Providence RI

Anderson's Improved Almanack, 1773, by John Anderson, Newport RI

The New England Almanack, 1778, by Benjamin West, Providence RI

An unknown almanack for 1784

The Columbian Almanack, 1791, by William Lilly Stover, Newport RI

With a magnifying glass and the Internet, I've determined that these
belonged to Theodore Foster, 1752-1828, the first senator to Rhode
Island. The almanacks have Theodore Foster written on several of them,
but they also contain notes mentioning Foster's wife, Lydia, and
Foster's brother, Dwight, so I can be nearly certain of the ownership
of the almanacks.

(Dwight Foster was also a US senator. John Wilkes, Esquire also shows
up near the top of any web search.)

So when I bought the almanacks I knew about these little pamphlets,
but since then I found that many of them have marginal notes and also
pages of white paper sewn into them, all with diary-like writing.

For 1775, a note is written: "April 16, 1775 This is the memorable day
when Civil War commences between the King's troops and the North
Americans. All things are uncertain to us." Inside are nine
handwritten pages, most concerning a trip in April, 1775 to Boston,
and include descriptions of General Gage's troops.

One fascinating entry from Boston says "The printer was engaged in
printing the writings of John Sewall under the signature of
Massachusettensis". My Internet research revealed that
Massachusettensis was a Tory pamphleteer, and that scholars originally
attributed the Massachusettensis writings to John Sewall, but later
concluded that they were really written by to Daniel Leonard. Are the
scholars mistaken or was Theodore Foster?

The 1778 almanack has the following marginal note: "Brother Dwight
Foster took the Attornies Oath, Wednesday afternoon September 23,
1778."

Another note is "In the night following Sunday the 30th day of Aug (?)
1778, the American army under the command of General Sullivan
retreated in excellent [unreadable] from Rhode Island."

For 1791, a note is written: "Jan 6, 1791 I dined at the President
with all principle officers of state."

For 1771, the almanack contains 20 pages of writings. I've looked
briefly and they appear to contain simple descriptions of meetings
with friends and some business notes.

It takes a long time to decipher these manuscripts. It really should
be a two person job -- one to read and the other to type.

***

I do have some questions about almanacks that maybe readers of this
newsgroup can answer.

The primary content of all of these almanacks are an ephemeris and
then astrological like tables for each month. Then each almanack
appears to be different, depending on the author, There are tables of
distances between towns, currency conversion tables, calendars of
lunar and solar eclipses, dates for meetings and courts, poems, etc.
What I don't see are witty "Poor Richard's Almanack" quotations. Maybe
witty doesn't translate over the passage of 200 years, or more likely,
few publishers could match Benjamin Franklin's wit.

I assume that almanacks were probably purchased from the publisher,
but I am puzzled by the diary pages. In my case, the diary pages are
sewn in amongst the almanack pages. Were the almanacks published with
blank pages? Or did the owner insert the pages and sew the almanacks
back together himself? Or were the almanacks published unsewn?

The 1768 almanack has 3 and 1/2 pages regarding John Wilkes, Esquire.
The remaining 1/2 page describes stage coaches and passage boats. This
almanack doesn't have a title page and surely must be lost. But all
the pages are sewn together. So I can't tell if the Wilkes pages were
purchased separately or where originally part of the almanack.

Finally, why would people buy these almanacs? I know that even today
some gardener's follow the phases of the moon when sowing seeds or
harvesting, so they could fulfill that function. Or are the
astrological tables really just calendars with the astrological stuff
being a bonus?

Thanks,

DKM

To contact me directly, send EMAIL to (single letters all)
DEE_KAY_EMM AT EarthLink.net. [For example .]

Here were the other items that I purchased:

There are two more almanacs, but with no diary pages. Notice how the
spelling has changed by 1844.

Farmer's Almanack, 1828, by Robert Thomas, Boston

The Rhode Island Almanac, 1844, by Isaac Bickerstaff (reprints an
interesting article regarding atmospheric phenomena -- see
http://goatview.com/may19darkness1790.htm; also a note about a
presentation at the Academy of Science of Paris in 1843 regarding a
canal across the isthmus of Panama)

Old newspapers:

The Providence Gazette, May 30, 1795, October 31, 1795, November 7,
1795, and December 5, 1795. These are all four pages long, folded from
a single sheet of paper.

The Boston Recorder, published by Nathaniel Willis, Boston, March 4,
1820. The front page stories are "American Mission in Ceylon" and
"Choctaw Mission". It appears that all of the articles concern
religious missionary work and reporting.

The Republican Herald, Providence, March 9, 1844, March 16, 1844,
March 23, 1844, June 1, 1944, July 6, 1844, July 27, 1844, August 3,
1844, September 7, 1844

The Boston Cultivator, published by Otis Brewer, Boston, January 9,
1869. (Half of the front page is missing.)

And then there are other items from outside New England:

The Weekly Messenger, Printer's Retreat, Indiana, August 31, 1833.

The Bulletin, San Francisco, October 27, 1896 (lots of hullabaloo
regarding William Jennings Bryan and silver)

La Publicidad Suplemento, Barcelona, April 25, 1880

The American Soldier: The First American Paper in Manila, Manila,
October 15, 1898, November 26, 1898

There are also some tattered ladies magazines from the 1800's. I'm
sure these were kept only for the illustrations of women's garments.

DKM


To contact me directly, send EMAIL to (single letters all)
DEE_KAY_EMM AT EarthLink.net. [For example .]

Hi Doug
You probably don't remember me but we were best friends at school, in fact I
saved your life once, or possibly twice. As another sign of goodwill towards
you after all these years, I am prepared to pay you the princely sum of £20
for your old tatty, of absolutely no interest newspapers. I know I'm a fool
to myself, but I was just born with a generous nature. Can't wait to hear
from you again old mate.
Speak soon
Love and lots of kisses
Diane

"Doug McClure" wrote in message
...
This past weekend I purchased a stack of old newspapers from an estate
sale. I had a chance to look through the stack and decided to take a
chance. I figured the supply of these was miniscule, but for all I
knew the demand was even smaller.

Upon further investigation and research, I've decided to brag about
it. The most bragworthy items I've identified are old almanacs from
New England:

An unknown almanack for 1768, including a broadside (?) regarding John
Wilkes, Esquire

The New England Almanack, 1769, by Abraham Weatherwise, Providence RI

The New England Almanack, 1771, by Benjamin West, Providence RI

Anderson's Improved Almanack, 1773, by John Anderson, Newport RI

The New England Almanack, 1778, by Benjamin West, Providence RI

An unknown almanack for 1784

The Columbian Almanack, 1791, by William Lilly Stover, Newport RI

With a magnifying glass and the Internet, I've determined that these
belonged to Theodore Foster, 1752-1828, the first senator to Rhode
Island. The almanacks have Theodore Foster written on several of them,
but they also contain notes mentioning Foster's wife, Lydia, and
Foster's brother, Dwight, so I can be nearly certain of the ownership
of the almanacks.

(Dwight Foster was also a US senator. John Wilkes, Esquire also shows
up near the top of any web search.)

So when I bought the almanacks I knew about these little pamphlets,
but since then I found that many of them have marginal notes and also
pages of white paper sewn into them, all with diary-like writing.

For 1775, a note is written: "April 16, 1775 This is the memorable day
when Civil War commences between the King's troops and the North
Americans. All things are uncertain to us." Inside are nine
handwritten pages, most concerning a trip in April, 1775 to Boston,
and include descriptions of General Gage's troops.

One fascinating entry from Boston says "The printer was engaged in
printing the writings of John Sewall under the signature of
Massachusettensis". My Internet research revealed that
Massachusettensis was a Tory pamphleteer, and that scholars originally
attributed the Massachusettensis writings to John Sewall, but later
concluded that they were really written by to Daniel Leonard. Are the
scholars mistaken or was Theodore Foster?

The 1778 almanack has the following marginal note: "Brother Dwight
Foster took the Attornies Oath, Wednesday afternoon September 23,
1778."

Another note is "In the night following Sunday the 30th day of Aug (?)
1778, the American army under the command of General Sullivan
retreated in excellent [unreadable] from Rhode Island."

For 1791, a note is written: "Jan 6, 1791 I dined at the President
with all principle officers of state."

For 1771, the almanack contains 20 pages of writings. I've looked
briefly and they appear to contain simple descriptions of meetings
with friends and some business notes.

It takes a long time to decipher these manuscripts. It really should
be a two person job -- one to read and the other to type.

***

I do have some questions about almanacks that maybe readers of this
newsgroup can answer.

The primary content of all of these almanacks are an ephemeris and
then astrological like tables for each month. Then each almanack
appears to be different, depending on the author, There are tables of
distances between towns, currency conversion tables, calendars of
lunar and solar eclipses, dates for meetings and courts, poems, etc.
What I don't see are witty "Poor Richard's Almanack" quotations. Maybe
witty doesn't translate over the passage of 200 years, or more likely,
few publishers could match Benjamin Franklin's wit.

I assume that almanacks were probably purchased from the publisher,
but I am puzzled by the diary pages. In my case, the diary pages are
sewn in amongst the almanack pages. Were the almanacks published with
blank pages? Or did the owner insert the pages and sew the almanacks
back together himself? Or were the almanacks published unsewn?

The 1768 almanack has 3 and 1/2 pages regarding John Wilkes, Esquire.
The remaining 1/2 page describes stage coaches and passage boats. This
almanack doesn't have a title page and surely must be lost. But all
the pages are sewn together. So I can't tell if the Wilkes pages were
purchased separately or where originally part of the almanack.

Finally, why would people buy these almanacs? I know that even today
some gardener's follow the phases of the moon when sowing seeds or
harvesting, so they could fulfill that function. Or are the
astrological tables really just calendars with the astrological stuff
being a bonus?

Thanks,

DKM

To contact me directly, send EMAIL to (single letters all)
DEE_KAY_EMM AT EarthLink.net. [For example .]

Doug,

Here's some more info on your almanacks; I will share it with the group
as well.

Collecting almanacs really isn't my field, but bibiiography is. I have
vol II of Drake's Almanacs of the United States, published by the
Scarecrow Press in 1962.

I will provide the Drake reference number for each "almanack," as well
as any other pertinent information to help you identify and collate it.
Btw, the complete title for the New England Almanacks is The New
-England Almanack; or Lady's and Gentleman's Diary.....which might
explain why Theodore Foster wrote in it.

Depending on condition and completeness, and without even considering
the provenance and diaries, almanacks published in Providence from this
period are listed from $50 to the low hundreds on both ABAA and ILAB.
The provenance and diaries should make these items highly collectible to
any Revolutionary War enthusiast or Rhode Island historian.

An unknown almanack for 1768, including a broadside (?) regarding John
Wilkes, Esquire

More than likely, this almanack is An Astronomical Diary: or Almanack
for 1768. By Nathanial Ames. Newport: Re-printed and sold by Samuel
Hill. 12 leaves. Drake 12819
Google this almanack and you will see mention of John Wilkes in its
contents.

The New England Almanack, 1769, by Abraham Weatherwise, Providence RI

Drake shows three 1769 editions of this almanack published by Sarah
Goddard and John Carter in Providence. All three have 16 leaves each.
Drake shows another 1769 edition containing 16 leaves with only John
Carter listed as the publisher/printer. One university only has 12
leaves in their copy. Drake 12823-12826

The New England Almanack, 1771, by Benjamin West, Providence RI

12 leaves. Drake 12829

Anderson's Improved Almanack, 1773, by John Anderson, Newport RI

16 leaves. Drake 12836

The New England Almanack, 1778, by Benjamin West, Providence RI

12 leaves Drake 12850

An unknown almanack for 1784

Lots of possiblilities:

The New England Almanack...for 1784. By Isaac Bickerstaff.
Providence:John Carter. 12 leaves... Drake 12871

The New England Almanack...for 1784. by Isaac Bickerstaff. Providence:
Carter and Wilkinson. 12 leaves. Drake 12872

The North American Calendar; or, the Rhode-Island Almanack for 1784. By
Benjamin West. Providence: Solomon Southwick. 12 leaves. Drake 12873
and 12874

Drake also shows three variants and one second edition of West's
Calendar printed by Bennett Wheeler. Each printing contains 12 leaves.
Drake 12875-12879

The Columbian Almanack, 1791, by William Lilly Stover, Newport RI

12 leaves. Drake 12912


Hope this helps you collate them!

Signed,
Your Best Buddy,
Jerry Morris

(Doug=A0McClure)
This past weekend I purchased a stack of old newspapers from an estate
sale. I had a chance to look through the stack and decided to take a
chance. I figured the supply of these was miniscule, but for all I knew
the demand was even smaller.

Upon further investigation and research, I've decided to brag about it.
The most bragworthy items I've identified are old almanacs from New
England:

An unknown almanack for 1768, including a broadside (?) regarding John
Wilkes, Esquire

The New England Almanack, 1769, by Abraham Weatherwise, Providence RI

The New England Almanack, 1771, by Benjamin West, Providence RI

Anderson's Improved Almanack, 1773, by John Anderson, Newport RI

The New England Almanack, 1778, by Benjamin West, Providence RI

An unknown almanack for 1784

The Columbian Almanack, 1791, by William Lilly Stover, Newport RI

With a magnifying glass and the Internet, I've determined that these
belonged to Theodore Foster, 1752-1828, the first senator to Rhode
Island. The almanacks have Theodore Foster written on several of them,
but they also contain notes mentioning Foster's wife, Lydia, and
Foster's brother, Dwight, so I can be nearly certain of the ownership of
the almanacks.
(Dwight Foster was also a US senator. John Wilkes, Esquire also shows up
near the top of any web search.)

So when I bought the almanacks I knew about these little pamphlets, but
since then I found that many of them have marginal notes and also pages
of white paper sewn into them, all with diary-like writing.

For 1775, a note is written: "April 16, 1775 This is the memorable day
when Civil War commences between the King's troops and the North
Americans. All things are uncertain to us." Inside are nine handwritten
pages, most concerning a trip in April, 1775 to Boston, and include
descriptions of General Gage's troops.

One fascinating entry from Boston says "The printer was engaged in
printing the writings of John Sewall under the signature of
Massachusettensis". My Internet research revealed that Massachusettensis
was a Tory pamphleteer, and that scholars originally attributed the
Massachusettensis writings to John Sewall, but later concluded that they
were really written by to Daniel Leonard. Are the scholars mistaken or
was Theodore Foster?
The 1778 almanack has the following marginal note: "Brother Dwight
Foster took the Attornies Oath, Wednesday afternoon September 23, 1778."

Another note is "In the night following Sunday the 30th day of Aug (?)
1778, the American army under the command of General Sullivan retreated
in excellent [unreadable] from Rhode Island."

For 1791, a note is written: "Jan 6, 1791 I dined at the President with
all principle officers of state."

For 1771, the almanack contains 20 pages of writings. I've looked
briefly and they appear to contain simple descriptions of meetings with
friends and some business notes.
It takes a long time to decipher these manuscripts. It really should be
a two person job -- one to read and the other to type.
***
I do have some questions about almanacks that maybe readers of this
newsgroup can answer.
The primary content of all of these almanacks are an ephemeris and then
astrological like tables for each month. Then each almanack appears to
be different, depending on the author, There are tables of distances
between towns, currency conversion tables, calendars of lunar and solar
eclipses, dates for meetings and courts, poems, etc. What I don't see
are witty "Poor Richard's Almanack" quotations. Maybe witty doesn't
translate over the passage of 200 years, or more likely, few publishers
could match Benjamin Franklin's wit.

I assume that almanacks were probably purchased from the publisher, but
I am puzzled by the diary pages. In my case, the diary pages are sewn in
amongst the almanack pages. Were the almanacks published with blank
pages? Or did the owner insert the pages and sew the almanacks back
together himself? Or were the almanacks published unsewn?
The 1768 almanack has 3 and 1/2 pages regarding John Wilkes, Esquire.
The remaining 1/2 page describes stage coaches and passage boats. This
almanack doesn't have a title page and surely must be lost. But all the
pages are sewn together. So I can't tell if the Wilkes pages were
purchased separately or where originally part of the almanack.
Finally, why would people buy these almanacs? I know that even today
some gardener's follow the phases of the moon when sowing seeds or
harvesting, so they could fulfill that function. Or are the astrological
tables really just calendars with the astrological stuff being a bonus?
Thanks,
DKM

To contact me directly, send EMAIL to (single letters all) DEE_KAY_EMM
AT EarthLink.net. [For example .]


Welcome to Moi's Books About Books: http://www.tinyurl.com/hib7
My Sentimental Library http://www.picturetrail.com/mylibrary and
moislibrary.com http://www.tinyurl.com/hisn

"Diane" wrote in message ...
Hi Doug
You probably don't remember me but we were best friends at school, in fact I
saved your life once, or possibly twice. As another sign of goodwill towards
you after all these years, I am prepared to pay you the princely sum of £20
for your old tatty, of absolutely no interest newspapers. I know I'm a fool
to myself, but I was just born with a generous nature. Can't wait to hear
from you again old mate.
Speak soon
Love and lots of kisses
Diane

Why don't you just cut to the chase and offer him sex.

--
Ht

I would suggest contacting the American Antiquarian Society (see
http://www.americanantiquarian.org ), both to find an almanac expert and in
case they are interested in purchasing your items.

--Helen

For those following this thread, I led Doug stray concerning this
unknown 1768 almanack; however, he has found his way.

An unknown almanack for 1768, including a broadside (?) regarding John
Wilkes, Esquire
More than likely, this almanack is An Astronomical Diary: or Almanack
for 1768. By Nathanial Ames. Newport: Re-printed and sold by Samuel
Hill. 12 leaves. Drake 12819
Google this almanack and you will see mention of John Wilkes in its
contents.
___________________________

NOT. When I googled "John Wilkes" "almanack" and "1768," the first
hit contained the phrase "Astronimical Diary...." and the phrase "..such
as John Wilkes." Had I opened the link I would have discovred that the
two phrases were totally unrelated and located in two different
sections. Oops!

I thought I could ungoogle myself by continuing to google; but, when
Google led me to Map Quest in quest of a 1768 almanack published in
Providence, I figued I was all googled out for the day. Ya think?

Jerry


Welcome to Moi's Books About Books: http://www.tinyurl.com/hib7
My Sentimental Library http://www.picturetrail.com/mylibrary and
moislibrary.com http://www.tinyurl.com/hisn

On Sun, 20 Jun 2004 21:03:53 GMT, John A. Stovall
wrote:


Title: The New-England town and country almanack :
containing an ephemeris, with the true places of the planets ... for
the year of our Lord 1769 ...
Author(s): Weatherwise, Abraham. ; Goddard, Sarah,; d. 1770. ; Carter,
John,; 1745-1814.
Publication: Providence : Printed and sold ... by Sarah Goddard, and
John Carter, at Shakespear's Head.,
Year: 1768
Description: 16 ll. ; 18 cm.
Language: English
SUBJECT(S)
Descriptor: Almanacs -- United States.
Named Person: Wilkes, John, 1727-1797 -- Portraits.
Note(s): By Abraham Weatherwise, gent. [pseud.]./ "Fitted to the
latitude of Providence, in New-England; but may ... serve all the
northern colonies./ The first four pages contain anecdotes of John
Wilkes and include his portrait. The fifth page is the title page.
Document Type: Book
Entry: 19880510
Update: 20040616
Accession No: OCLC: 54288227
Database: WorldCat

Does this look like what you have?


Yes and no. Mostly yes.

What I has happened is that the four pages (two leaves) regarding John
Wilkes, Esquire have been removed and sewn onto the previous year's
(1768) almanack. The 1768 almanack has two distinct threads used to
sew it together.

I was sent the following information earlier:

"Drake shows three 1769 editions of this almanack published by Sarah
Goddard and John Carter in Providence. All three have 16 leaves each.
Drake shows another 1769 edition with 16 leaves with only John Carter
listed as the publisher/printer. One university only has 12 leaves in
their copy. Drake 12823-12826"

And should I assume that "Description: 16 ll. ; 18 cm." means '16
leaves'?

My copy, if you count the two removed leaves (four pages), only has 15
leaves. I presume that the final leaf has been lost, because there
doesn't appear to be anything missing in the middle of the almanack
(e.g., no missing months from the calendar). Only an examination of a
full 16 leaf copy would allow me to determine exactly what has been
lost. The 1769 almanack shows three distinct threads used to sew it
together.

So why were the John Wilkes pages removed? It's my guess that Theodore
Foster wanted to keep these pages and had them sewed to the previous
year's almanack to preserve them where they could be easily found.

By properly accounting for the John Wilkes pages, the 1768 almanack
becomes even more difficult to identify. It doesn't have a title page
but when I compare the 1768 and 1769 almanacks, they look similar (the
format of the ephemeris and the calendar pages looks the same). I
would guess that the 1768 almanack was also published by Abraham
Weatherwise or was also printed by Goddard and Carter.

In my original posting I mentioned that some of the diaries had
marginal writing or 'diary' pages sewn in. The only writing in the
1768 or 1769 almanack is "William Holmes Providence", written into
the middle of a table of the kings and queens of England in the 1769
almanack. I would guess that Theodore Foster just jotted down the name
of Mr. Holmes, not wanting to forget it. A quick Internet search
didn't locate a likely Willam Holmes that would have been alive in
1769, but I didn't look very hard.


***

I did some more reading last week and was amused about a story of
Theodore Foster finding himself in a Tory tavern in Boston and getting
the hell out of there quickly after learning that.

DKM


To contact me directly, send EMAIL to (single letters all)
DEE_KAY_EMM AT EarthLink.net. [For example .]

On Sun, 20 Jun 2004 21:03:53 GMT, John A. Stovall
wrote:


Title: The New-England town and country almanack :
containing an ephemeris, with the true places of the planets ... for
the year of our Lord 1769 ...
Author(s): Weatherwise, Abraham. ; Goddard, Sarah,; d. 1770. ; Carter,
John,; 1745-1814.
Publication: Providence : Printed and sold ... by Sarah Goddard, and
John Carter, at Shakespear's Head.,
Year: 1768

snip

I've been spending a few minutes trying to find a possible value for
the four issues of the Providence Gazette from 1795. In doing so, I've
learned a little bit about "Sarah Goddard". Here was the first hit:

"Famous Firsts by American Women

1766
Mary Katherine Goddard and her widowed mother become publishers of the
Providence Gazette newspaper and the annual West's Almanack, making
her the first woman publisher in America. In 1775, Goddard became the
first woman postmaster in the country (in Baltimore), and in 1777 she
became the first printer to offer copies of the Declaration of
Independence that included the signers' names. "

(from http://www.wnba.com/mercury/news/fam...ts_030305.html -- yes
this is a Women's NBA page.)

Then it's an easy matter to search for Mary Katherine Goddard and
Sarah Goddard (the "widowed mother") to learn more. Here's a good
one-pager: http://www.abacon.com/folkerts/profile3.html

DKM

To contact me directly, send EMAIL to (single letters all)
DEE_KAY_EMM AT EarthLink.net. [For example .]