A Topical Index of Early U.S. Almanacs, 1776-1800

For the American living 200 years ago, life was very different from today. One of the best ways to learn what life was like in early America is to examine the many almanacs published during that time. These books include a broad range of information that was of central importance to daily life in late 18th-century America, such as cures for common diseases, recipes for food, instructions for preparing many of the items that modern Americans would expect to buy at a store, agricultural advice, tables for computing interest and currency depreciation, church and court schedules, and lists of all kinds. In addition to such practical information, these almanacs often published poetry, essays, maxims, illustrations, and advertisements. This reference book indexes hundreds of almanacs published between 1776 and 1800 and thus makes it easy for researchers to learn about daily life in early America.

The volume begins with a short introduction that discusses some of the fascinating information contained in American almanacs of the late 18th century. It then presents a bibliography of almanacs published between 1776 and 1800, and each citation includes a corresponding number. The sections that follow are each devoted to a particular year. Within each section are headings for various topics, such as receipts, information, lists and registers, poems, essays, maxims, and miscellaneous material. Each heading then lists various topics, with each topic followed by the entry numbers of the almanacs cited in the bibliography. By browsing through the volume, the reader can get a general sense of the topics of importance to Americans of the late 18th century. For more detailed information, the reader may then consult one or more of the bibliographies published during that period.