1772: French artwork

Plain and simple

The design of most almanacs is what you might call plain: small books that could be quickly tossed off in the print shop and required very little paper. The woodcuts they contained were not exactly executed with an eye for details, but this kept the price down so that everyone could afford to buy an almanac - or to receive one. In the Almanak voor christelijke huisgezinnen [Almanac for Christian Families] for 1837 the publisher writes, 'We are offering the almanac at a low price in order to enable the wealthier among us to distribute them to the poor.'

Little gems

Even so, some almanacs were fashioned into little gems. Just like today's calendars and appointment diaries, new almanacs were produced just prior to the new year. Keeping in mind the holiday period and New Year's celebrations, they were sometimes decorated to serve as gifts. Within the upper strata of the East India Company, almanacs bound in sharkskin (sometimes imitation) and fastened with silver clasps were in vogue. Several of these can be found in the KB collection.

Showing off

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, almanacs made for showing off were particularly popular. They were bound in leather or satin, some with embroidered covers and some even with covers of tortoise shell. The engravings were hand-coloured, the books were gilt-edged, and decorative boxes with sliding lids were made in which the almanacs could be safely stored. Up until this time all this had been the purchaser's responsibility, but after about 1775 the publisher took the initiative. Almanacs are among the first books with publisher's bindings.

France

The decoration of almanacs was especially widespread in France. As far as style of printing or illustration technique is concerned Dutch and French almanacs are quite evenly matched, but in terms of binding and coloured reproductions the French are unrivalled. The Almanach iconologique pictured here has a silk binding embroidered in silver thread and decorated with sequins and a medallion featuring a landscape made of gold and silver paper. The hand-coloured illustrations in this almanac, representing the human senses and humours, are also of the highest quality. Such bindings were not produced in series, making them quite unique.

Notes in Dutch

It is unclear whether this binding was made for a French or a Dutch lady. The fact that French almanacs were also in circulation in the Netherlands is apparent from one of the notes it contains, written in Dutch. The same is true of the Almanach des dames of 1805, printed in Paris. Here a Dutch lady has recorded purchases having to do with a chicken coop, as well as the number of eggs laid during the first days.