1 00:00:01,360 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Happy New Year. Yeah, 4 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 1: it's twenty twenty four as we record this, where as 5 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:24,959 Speaker 1: we share this, we're recording in twenty twenty three, to 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: be honest, but this is a time of year it's 7 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: come up for us before where we start to talk 8 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: about things like calendars and planners, which are my personal love. 9 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 1: Put me in a planner store and I'm very happy. 10 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: And we have talked a little bit about these topics before. 11 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,240 Speaker 1: We talked about almanacs a little bit on our episode 12 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: on Benjamin Banneker, and we have certainly talked about calendars 13 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: before a few times, but one you may remember is 14 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: our episode about the French Republican calendar. But I really 15 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: found myself wondering specifically about day planners recently because I 16 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: was setting up my twenty twenty four to one and 17 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: I was getting excited. It has droids on it. We 18 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: love it because I still love a physical paper planner. 19 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,040 Speaker 1: I know not everyone does, and some people have transitioned 20 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 1: over to digital. But I started to wonder about when 21 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:20,680 Speaker 1: people started using actual planners, and that really means that 22 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: we have to talk about almanacs because the two are 23 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 1: kind of tightly linked in how one led to the other. 24 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: And so here we are today. If you're making your planner, 25 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: I hope this is a good listening material for you 26 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,960 Speaker 1: to review the basics and almanac normally contains things like 27 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: a calendar, times for the sunrise and sunset, astronomical information, tides, climate, holidays, festivals, 28 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: that kind of thing. You can make a comparison of 29 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: an almanac being kind of like an analog version of 30 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: a smartphone for people living in pre digital times. Of course, 31 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: there are still almanacs a day, including some that have 32 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: their own web pages, which is a little funny to me. 33 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: So everything you might need to know in terms of time, weather, winter, plants, 34 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: that was all in the almanac, so folks had a 35 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,919 Speaker 1: ready reference to stay informed on those kinds of things. 36 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: So the roots of almanacs are found in calendars that 37 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: had notations correlated to dates those date back all the 38 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: way to ancient Egypt. These calendars were tied very closely 39 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: to the activity of the Nile River, as it was 40 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: the cornerstone of survival, so the phases of flood, spring, 41 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: and low water, which was also the harvest period were 42 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: all noted alongside marking the days. In Egyptians of the 43 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: time understood the lunar cycle, and they had marked the 44 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: idea of twelve cycles in a year, but the three 45 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:49,799 Speaker 1: seasons of the Nile may have really been the more 46 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: important markers to their calendar. This is actually a matter 47 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:57,399 Speaker 1: of debate among historians. But the period of flood ran 48 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: from fall to midwinter. Spring, which was also called emergence 49 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: sometimes when you see people talking about it today, was 50 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: from midwinter so like January, to late spring around May, 51 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:11,920 Speaker 1: and then what they called their harvest encompassed summer and 52 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: into the autumn. But these weren't fixed dates, because the 53 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: movements of the Nile could shift year to year, and 54 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 1: predictions of those shifts would be baked into the calendar, 55 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 1: although that meant that there was a little bit of variability. 56 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,519 Speaker 1: On average, the year ended up following three hundred and 57 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,359 Speaker 1: sixty five days as we recognize it today, but there 58 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: were some that were a little longer and a little shorter. 59 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: We don't know exactly when this way of tracking the 60 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: year began, but there are rudimentary versions going back to 61 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 1: three thousand BCE. Ancient Greek and Roman calendars also incorporated 62 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: culturally important information along with the days and the years, 63 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,640 Speaker 1: things like feasts, days that were likely to bring good 64 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: fortune or bad. While we don't have surviving examples of 65 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:02,559 Speaker 1: Greek almanacs, they were mentioned specifically by the mathematical commentator 66 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: Theon of Alexandria, who lived in the fourth century. He 67 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: incidentally was the father of Hypatia. Yeah, I feel like 68 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: in doing an episode about calendars and almanacs, we bump 69 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: up against so many of our Yeah, it's a two 70 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: other things we've talked about. Yeah. So, then the fasti, 71 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: which means days, was sort of a Roman list version 72 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: of an almanac. Fastidias, for example, translates to lawful days, 73 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: and that list indicated what days it was legal to 74 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: conduct various kinds of business. Fasti sacri were lists of 75 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: sacred days, and Roman religious leaders were responsible for mapping 76 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,440 Speaker 1: out the various important times of the years, including religious 77 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:49,680 Speaker 1: festivals and observations. Then, according to the eighteen ninety Dictionary 78 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,920 Speaker 1: of Greek and Roman Antiquities, at some point a scribe 79 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:58,359 Speaker 1: is said to have completely broken with tradition and published 80 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: the calendar used by the priests of Rome for the 81 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: public to see. Sometimes this is described as displaying tablets. 82 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: It's very dramatic. And then it was kind of like 83 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: time had become democratized in that moment, and this catalyzed 84 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,599 Speaker 1: the development of a common calendar that included a more 85 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 1: comprehensive collection of information. The Chinese tung Shing is an 86 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:22,919 Speaker 1: almanac full of dates that are auspicious for various activities 87 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: and occasions. The lore around its origins attributes the creation 88 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: of the first one to the mythical Yellow Emperor around 89 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:34,159 Speaker 1: twenty six hundred BCE. This is a version of an 90 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 1: almanac that has endured to present day, although the format 91 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: of it has evolved a number of times. Yeah, my 92 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:44,360 Speaker 1: understanding is that people will still sometimes consult it to 93 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: pick out things like wedding days or other important days 94 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:54,040 Speaker 1: for their family. The compilation, though, of these various types 95 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:58,920 Speaker 1: of information, so combining astronomy, climate, holidays, etc. Into one 96 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:03,599 Speaker 1: source for personal use, is credited to the Arabic speaking world. 97 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:08,279 Speaker 1: The word almanac means climate in Arabic, and according to 98 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: the Oxford English Dictionary, the word almanac originates as a 99 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:15,480 Speaker 1: Spanish Arabic word in the Middle Ages, although its specific 100 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: point of origin is unknown. This is all a little 101 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,719 Speaker 1: bit disputed, though, because it may have been a misinterpretation 102 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 1: or a borrow word that was adopted into European use. 103 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: It appears in medieval Latin as almanac with a K, 104 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: and it wasn't used in the sense we know it 105 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 1: today definitively until the thirteenth century. That mention is from 106 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: twelve seventy six, when English philosopher Roger Bacon published his 107 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: book Opus Majus. That year, he suggested that the word 108 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: be adopted for use when referring to tables of astronomical information. 109 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: One of the reasons there's some fuzziness here is because 110 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: the first almanac is usually credited to a man named 111 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: Abuashak Ibrahim ibn Yaya al Nakash al to Gb al Zarkali, 112 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,919 Speaker 1: who lived and worked on the Iberian Peninsula in the 113 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: Muslim ruled region known as al Andalous, so broadly within 114 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: Spain today. Al Zarkali was born in ten twenty nine 115 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: during the Islamic Golden Age, which just came up in 116 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: our episode on the Banu Musa. Al Zarkali was an 117 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: astronomer and an astrologer, and in ten eighty eight he 118 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 1: wrote what's now called the Almanac of Zarkali. It's believed 119 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: to have been based on a Greek work, but the 120 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: information in it regarding astronomical information as local to Toledo, 121 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: where al Zarkali lived and worked. The first mass printed 122 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 1: European almanac was the work of Johannes Mueller von Koenigsberg, 123 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: better known as Reggiomontans. He was born on June sixth, 124 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: fourteen thirty six in Koenigsburg, Germany. Became a well known 125 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: and respected mathematician and astronomer, and he was eventually employed 126 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: by the Vatican. He also became a printer and he 127 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: produced his all E Femeritus Abbano starting in fourteen seventy four. 128 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: Although Reggio Montanas died two years later, his almanac continued 129 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 1: until fifteen oh six, twenty three years after the first 130 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 1: of the Reggio Montanas almanacs, France's first almanac was produced. 131 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: That was the fourteen ninety three Calendar of Shepherds. This 132 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: book became very popular and was soon picked up for 133 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: publication in Geneva as well, and then it was translated 134 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: badly by all accounts, into Scott's Dialect for publication in 135 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: England in fifteen oh three that remained in print in 136 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: England continuously until sixteen thirty one. This particular almanac had 137 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,719 Speaker 1: the types of things that we mentioned already astronomical tables, seasons, 138 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: planting and feast days, plus medical information, poetry and biblical contents. 139 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,160 Speaker 1: One of the versions of the Calendar of Shepherds that 140 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:59,040 Speaker 1: was published in England was produced by Richard Pinson. Pinson 141 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:01,880 Speaker 1: was born in France in Normandy, and after he moved 142 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: to London, he became one of the city's most prominent printers, 143 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 1: and in his fifteen oh six version of the Calendar 144 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: of Shepherds, Pinson wrote that it had been translated into 145 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 1: quote corrupt English and not by no english Man. Pinson 146 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: claimed that he had his edition newly translated, although according 147 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: to a two thousand and three paper on the Calendar 148 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: of Shepherds by Martha W. Driver, none of the English 149 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:31,520 Speaker 1: language versions were direct translations. Some passages were completely different 150 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,200 Speaker 1: new information, including one edition that included kind of what 151 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:39,319 Speaker 1: amounted to an illustrated diet and fitness plan allegedly used 152 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 1: by shepherds. Pinson was by the way, appointed Henry the 153 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:45,960 Speaker 1: Ace printer just a few years after his first version 154 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 1: of the Calendar of Shepherds was published in fifteen sixty five. 155 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 1: Joaquim Hubri's An Almanac and Prognostication for the Year of 156 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:59,439 Speaker 1: Our Lord God fifteen sixty five, serving for all Europia 157 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:03,439 Speaker 1: and all so most necessary for all students, merchants, mariners 158 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 1: and travelers both by sea and land, composed and gathered 159 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: by Joaquin Hubride, doctor in physic Also the most principal 160 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,680 Speaker 1: fairs in England. Very necessary for people that do resort 161 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 1: to the same uh. That's when I came out in 162 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: fifteen sixty five. This gives a sense of how much 163 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 1: these had become seen and marketed as repositories of basically 164 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:29,320 Speaker 1: all the vital information a person would need to get 165 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 1: through a given year. Coming up, we're going to talk 166 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:35,240 Speaker 1: about the first almanac that was printed in the British 167 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: colonies of North America, but first we will pause for 168 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: a sponsor break. The first almanac published in Britain's North 169 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:55,959 Speaker 1: American colonies was published by mariner Captain William Pierce. Pierce 170 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: arrived in Boston in sixteen thirty two just two years 171 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: after the city founding, and seven years later he produced 172 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,600 Speaker 1: his Almanac, which was an almanac for New England for 173 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:09,679 Speaker 1: the year sixteen thirty nine. By this time, almanacs were 174 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: becoming recognized as important tools, and in sixteen forty seven 175 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: Harvard published an almanac compiled by one of its fellows, 176 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:23,319 Speaker 1: Samuel Danforth. Danforth born in sixteen twenty six was an astronomer, mathematician, 177 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,160 Speaker 1: Puritan minister, and a poet, and his almanac reflects these 178 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:31,200 Speaker 1: various disciplines. His first almanac had an essay that played 179 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 1: out throughout the book, at the bottom of each page 180 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 1: or each section, where he shared his thoughts about calendars 181 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,359 Speaker 1: and the heavens, and then in subsequent years he abandoned 182 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 1: the essay and instead wrote poems to put at the 183 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,960 Speaker 1: end of each month. These are considered secular poems, although 184 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 1: his Puritan religion and morality is ever present in them. 185 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:54,560 Speaker 1: For example, one of his brief June poems reads, who 186 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: digged this spring of gardens? Here? Whose mudded streams at 187 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 1: last run clear? Why should we such water drink? Give 188 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:05,319 Speaker 1: loosers what they list to think? Yet no one god, 189 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:12,079 Speaker 1: one faith professed to be new England's interest. Samuel Danforth 190 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 1: also included in his almanac a chronological table of some 191 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:20,080 Speaker 1: few memorable occurrences, which was not a predictive model of 192 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:22,400 Speaker 1: what to expect in the year, but instead a very 193 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,559 Speaker 1: brief history of the twenty year old Massachusetts Bay Colony. 194 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 1: Some of these are historically fascinating and the insights that 195 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 1: they offer into dan Forth's views of events that we 196 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: see very differently today. For example, in January of sixteen 197 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,840 Speaker 1: thirty eight, the only note is quote Missus Hutchinson and 198 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 1: her errors banished. We talked about Ann Hutchinson earlier this 199 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 1: year in our episode on Mary Dyer and her two 200 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:51,160 Speaker 1: trials were involved and had multiple facets, so it's interesting 201 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:55,000 Speaker 1: that dan Forth notes it with just this five words, 202 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:59,160 Speaker 1: very minimal. Most of his history is this way. An 203 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 1: entire years news and events are boiled down to just 204 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 1: a few sentences. Vanforth Almanac was popular and continued for 205 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,480 Speaker 1: quite a number of years, although not with him. He 206 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 1: gave the almanac to another person after a few years 207 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:15,600 Speaker 1: when he was offered a pastor position away from Harvard. 208 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:18,680 Speaker 1: During the time that North America was in the early 209 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 1: stages of making print. Almanac's mainstream, there was a very 210 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: interesting and different kind of almanac being produced in England. 211 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:30,720 Speaker 1: This type, called a kloague almanac, didn't originate in England. 212 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:33,880 Speaker 1: It had actually been in use in Scandinavian countries for 213 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:36,640 Speaker 1: a long time before it had this surge in popularity 214 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:40,240 Speaker 1: in England. So a cloague almanac is a wooden rod 215 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:43,400 Speaker 1: that's squared so that it has four distinct sides, and 216 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,240 Speaker 1: each side represents a quarter of the year, with the 217 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,719 Speaker 1: days marked by notches along the edge, so when it's 218 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:52,120 Speaker 1: held by the handle, it's red from the bottom to 219 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,120 Speaker 1: the top. And then there are runes and other symbols 220 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:57,440 Speaker 1: that are carved into the cloague at points on each 221 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: face of the rod to notate the various happenings in 222 00:14:00,559 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 1: the season, in the year. And these were obviously not paper. 223 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:06,840 Speaker 1: They were something that would last, and they were meant 224 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:09,079 Speaker 1: to be used for more than one year, so they 225 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,720 Speaker 1: didn't reflect projections of a coming year, but more like 226 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: here are the standard patterns you can expect, and they 227 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,200 Speaker 1: served both a practical and sometimes decorative purpose. Is they 228 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: were also sometimes designed to be hung or otherwise displayed 229 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:25,240 Speaker 1: in the home. I'm imagining this as kind of a 230 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: calendar yardstick. It's much shorter than that, though, it's like 231 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 1: a thing you can easily hold in your hand. There 232 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: are examples of them in museums, and they're like less 233 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: than a foot long. They're not that big. Okay, to 234 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:42,720 Speaker 1: move on. Samuel Atkins prepared an almanac for sixteen eighty 235 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 1: six titled Calendarium Pennsylvanians or America's Messenger, being an almanac 236 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,720 Speaker 1: for the year of Grace sixteen eighty six, where it 237 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:54,280 Speaker 1: has contained both the English and foreign account the motions 238 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:59,359 Speaker 1: of the planets through the signs, with the luminaries, conjunctions, aspects, eclipses, 239 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:02,560 Speaker 1: the ride, southing and setting of the moon, with the 240 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 1: time when she passeth by or is with the most 241 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: eminent fixed stars, sun rising and setting in the time 242 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: of high water at the city of Philadelphia, et cetera. 243 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: With chronologies and many other notes, rules and tables, very 244 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:20,160 Speaker 1: fitting for every man to know and have, all which 245 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:23,960 Speaker 1: is accommodated to the longitude of province of Pennsylvania and 246 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: latitude of forty degrees north, with a table of houses 247 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:31,320 Speaker 1: for the same which may indifferently serve New England, New 248 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:35,960 Speaker 1: York East, and West Jersey, Maryland, and most parts of Virginia. 249 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 1: This is a good indicator that almanacs were also becoming 250 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:44,080 Speaker 1: more and more localized, and they just wanted you to 251 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,680 Speaker 1: know that everything's in here, you guys. In seventeen hundred, 252 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 1: Vaux Stellarum the Voice of the Stars was published in 253 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:54,480 Speaker 1: England by Stationers Company. And this was an almanac written 254 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:57,240 Speaker 1: by Francis Moore, who was an astrologer, so it had 255 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:00,800 Speaker 1: a lot of astrology in it. It came to be 256 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:05,080 Speaker 1: known as Old Moore's Almanac, and that is still in publication. It, 257 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: like many other almanacs, started to include more and more 258 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 1: different kinds of material, including things like humor and short 259 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 1: form fiction and medical advice, et cetera, making it not 260 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 1: only a reference book but also a source of entertainment. 261 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 1: I think this is sort of what like the Old 262 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 1: Farmer's Almanac also eventually yes into, which is I think 263 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 1: the thing that people might have seen the most around 264 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:36,160 Speaker 1: in the United States today. Following the popularity of Vox Stillarum, 265 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: there was a massive surge in the number of almanac 266 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:42,360 Speaker 1: titles in North America. The seventeen twenties and thirties were 267 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 1: the time when several popular almanacs began publication. This included 268 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,880 Speaker 1: the Astronomical Diary in Almanac, which started in seventeen twenty 269 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: five by a Massachusetts teenager named Nathaniel Ames. Nathaniel went 270 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 1: on to become a physician, but he was only seventeen 271 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: when he first produced his almanac, and that continued for 272 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: fifty years. After Nathaniel died in seventeen sixty four, his 273 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 1: son continued to publish the work for another decade. Yeah, 274 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:14,639 Speaker 1: apparently when Nathaniel died there was this slight panic in 275 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 1: the family because it was such a popular thing and 276 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,400 Speaker 1: a source of income that they saw other publishers kind 277 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,040 Speaker 1: of like thinking they would move in and claim that 278 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 1: they were the new Nathaniel Ames Almanac, and his son 279 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 1: was like, I'm just going to take this over. James 280 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:34,120 Speaker 1: Franklin put out the Rhode Island Almanac in seventeen twenty eight, 281 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 1: five years before his more famous brother Benjamin started his 282 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:42,400 Speaker 1: own almanac under the pen name Richard Saunders. Poor Richard's Almanac, 283 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:45,479 Speaker 1: of course, became very successful, and it sold consistently for 284 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:48,800 Speaker 1: more than twenty five years, offering Franklin a platform to 285 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:51,800 Speaker 1: share his thoughts on a wide array of subjects, plenty 286 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 1: of which is really cringey by today's standards. But Ben 287 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 1: Franklin not only jumped into a very crowded market with 288 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:01,720 Speaker 1: his almanac, he was really successful, and he was one 289 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 1: of the few that managed to keep publication going through 290 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:09,199 Speaker 1: the Revolutionary War and beyond. Franklin met the demands of 291 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 1: his audience to do so through things like adding some 292 00:18:12,119 --> 00:18:13,959 Speaker 1: blank pages. We're going to talk a little bit more 293 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 1: about that in a minute, or introducing small editions that 294 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,720 Speaker 1: were marketed to women and were described as being able 295 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 1: to easily fit into a woman's handbag. The first nautical almanac, 296 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:30,520 Speaker 1: which was Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris, was released in 297 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:34,439 Speaker 1: seventeen sixty six. This ties into another old episode of 298 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 1: ours from twenty fourteen on the discovery of longitude, because 299 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,159 Speaker 1: the information in the almanac, which was published by the 300 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: Astronomer Royal of England, enabled determination of longitude using the 301 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:50,480 Speaker 1: calculation of lunar distance. Nautical almanacs have since been published 302 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:53,360 Speaker 1: around the world, and in nineteen twelve the US Congress 303 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: voted to share data, meaning in the most immediate sense 304 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: that the British Nautical Office formed in eighteen thirty two 305 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: and the US Nautical Office formed in eighteen forty nine 306 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 1: could work together to publish consistent information. Yeah, up to 307 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: that point they were both putting out almanacs, and sometimes 308 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:14,119 Speaker 1: they weren't saying the same thing. And since those are 309 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,120 Speaker 1: nautical and meant to travel, you can't be as localized. 310 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:22,639 Speaker 1: Specialized almanacs also started to appear. Just as today there 311 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: are calendars for cat lovers or fans of specific movies 312 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,520 Speaker 1: or TV shows, there were almanacs that aimed at specific demographics, 313 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: like religious or social club affiliations. Some almanacs were also 314 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,840 Speaker 1: used as a way to promote ideas. The American Anti 315 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,639 Speaker 1: Slavery Almanac ran from eighteen thirty six to eighteen forty 316 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:44,719 Speaker 1: three as a way for the American Anti Slavery Society 317 00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:49,440 Speaker 1: to show people the realities of slavery. That almanac included 318 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 1: the calendar and statistical information that other almanacs did, but 319 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:56,600 Speaker 1: it also included writing and imagery to convince more people 320 00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:01,919 Speaker 1: to join the abolitionist movement, including illustrations of black people, 321 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:05,880 Speaker 1: both enslaved and free, being tortured or being poorly treated. 322 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:09,240 Speaker 1: And this was apparently quite shocking to some readers. Notable 323 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:13,000 Speaker 1: anti slavery activists were involved in this almanacs editing and 324 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:16,680 Speaker 1: publication over the years, including William Lloyd Garrison and Lydia 325 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:21,399 Speaker 1: Mariah Child. Okay, so how does this translate into day planners? 326 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,359 Speaker 1: We'll talk about that after we hear from the sponsors 327 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:26,399 Speaker 1: that keep things running here at Stuff You Muss and 328 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:39,960 Speaker 1: History Class. Even before there was anything labeled as a planner, 329 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 1: there were planners. Most people were using their almanacs this way, 330 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:47,640 Speaker 1: often noting down important happenings in their lives or business 331 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 1: dealings on the pages of the copy they were already 332 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,359 Speaker 1: carrying around with them, because yes, people carried them around 333 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:57,359 Speaker 1: with them. As almanacs became indispensable to daily life, they 334 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: just were the most obvious place to jot things down. 335 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:03,199 Speaker 1: In addition to people just starting to write in the 336 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:07,480 Speaker 1: margins of their almanac's, booksellers and publishers started to address 337 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:11,400 Speaker 1: the demand for writing space and almanacs by including blank pages. 338 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:15,120 Speaker 1: Sometimes these would be bound in right along with the content, 339 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: and then other times tipped in after the book had 340 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:21,720 Speaker 1: been assembled. Earlier, we mentioned Joaquin Hubris and Almanac and 341 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:25,480 Speaker 1: Prognostication for the year fifteen sixty five, but that was 342 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 1: not his only almanac. He also created one that he 343 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:32,159 Speaker 1: called Blank and Perpetual that was intended to give users 344 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:35,199 Speaker 1: a place to write down things like transactions that they 345 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,160 Speaker 1: wanted to track or other events worth noting throughout the year. 346 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:41,959 Speaker 1: Some other almanacs started to include blank space in the 347 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:44,600 Speaker 1: form of a free column included in the tables, or 348 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,080 Speaker 1: even whole blank pages, but all at the end of 349 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:50,399 Speaker 1: the book, so blank areas that were undefined to be 350 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:54,399 Speaker 1: used at the owner's discretion. Molly McCarthy notes in her 351 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,240 Speaker 1: twenty thirteen book The Accidental Diarist that the rise in 352 00:21:58,359 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 1: popularity of diary keeping in the eighteen hundreds has roots 353 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: in the almanacs of the eighteenth century. Writing quote, the 354 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:09,200 Speaker 1: commercial success of the pocket diary in the nineteenth century 355 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:11,959 Speaker 1: had much to do with the genres and record keeping 356 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: habits that preceded it. The almanac paved the way for 357 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:18,600 Speaker 1: the daily planner. It accustomed buyers to a kind of 358 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:22,160 Speaker 1: writing that was regular but abbreviated, coded in a way 359 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:25,119 Speaker 1: that was restrictive but instrumental to a way of seeing 360 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:28,720 Speaker 1: and being in the world. Pre made diaries one of 361 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:32,399 Speaker 1: a variety of other blank books. Such as scrapbooks, account books, 362 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 1: and autograph albums fueled a publishing industry that betrayed a 363 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:40,200 Speaker 1: commercial fervor for cheap print that began in the colonial 364 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:44,280 Speaker 1: print shop. So the idea of an almanac diary just 365 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,320 Speaker 1: brief notes on the day kept in an almanac was different, 366 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:50,000 Speaker 1: of course from a diary where a person might share 367 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,320 Speaker 1: their feelings in secrets, but it followed the form of 368 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:56,320 Speaker 1: the almanac, so it just listed facts and events as 369 00:22:56,320 --> 00:23:00,439 Speaker 1: a sort of record. There's also this secondary aspect guarding 370 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:03,720 Speaker 1: diary keeping and almanacs that's linked to economic class that 371 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,919 Speaker 1: was in play historically. So when it was common for 372 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: people to start using their almanacs as diaries, people with 373 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:13,560 Speaker 1: more money could pay to have extra blank pages tipped in. 374 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:16,800 Speaker 1: So even putting one's thoughts on paper in any kind 375 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 1: of expansive way became something of a luxury. If you 376 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,680 Speaker 1: only have a brief column and you can't afford more 377 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:26,159 Speaker 1: paper to be added, you got to keep things brief. 378 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,320 Speaker 1: Over time, though, both demand for more notation space and 379 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:33,639 Speaker 1: a drop in the reputation of the almanac led to 380 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:38,440 Speaker 1: the various facts, tables and title information being supplanted by 381 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,639 Speaker 1: more blank pages until Finally, somebody had the thought to 382 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 1: produce a calendar that was intended primarily for writing in 383 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:49,200 Speaker 1: was a date book. In seventeen forty eight, Robert Dodsley 384 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 1: of London printed a new memoranda book for the following year. 385 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: This is a small book that had space for financial 386 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:59,359 Speaker 1: transactions as well as appointments and notes, and it became 387 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: very popular in England, so much so that other publishers 388 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:06,560 Speaker 1: started producing them, and then one publisher got the idea 389 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:10,400 Speaker 1: that someone should sell them in North America, and that 390 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:14,600 Speaker 1: person was publisher Robert Aitken. Aitkin was born in Scotland 391 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:17,720 Speaker 1: in seventeen thirty four and emigrated to the Colonies around 392 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:21,280 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy. I saw different years for this. From seventeen 393 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,199 Speaker 1: sixty nine to seventeen seventy one he set up a 394 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,720 Speaker 1: printing shop in Philadelphia, and just a few years after 395 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:30,880 Speaker 1: he got there he produced the complete annual account book 396 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:35,400 Speaker 1: and calendar for the Pocket or Desk for seventeen seventy three. 397 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 1: This date book wasn't completely devoid of some of the 398 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:41,640 Speaker 1: tables found in almanacs. It had those, but it was secondary. 399 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,919 Speaker 1: It really just had a lot more blank pages. Fifty 400 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:48,080 Speaker 1: two of them, so one spread for each week, and 401 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:49,919 Speaker 1: they were laid out in a way that the user 402 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,920 Speaker 1: could easily scan the whole week, so it was easy 403 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:55,560 Speaker 1: to write down things like appointments and then reference them 404 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 1: again later. That was something that was less fluid and 405 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:01,159 Speaker 1: smooth if you were writing appointment on a page that 406 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,600 Speaker 1: shared space with things like planetary movements, the moon phases, 407 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,520 Speaker 1: and weather predictions. On the left page of a two 408 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:09,560 Speaker 1: page spread for the week, there was a grid laid 409 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,159 Speaker 1: out to note expenses and income, and then on the 410 00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:15,320 Speaker 1: right hand side it had dated cells to write whatever 411 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:19,280 Speaker 1: was pertinent to any given day. It sounds revolutionary and 412 00:25:19,359 --> 00:25:23,959 Speaker 1: it was, except not many people were into it. It 413 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,240 Speaker 1: was such a departure from the way people had been 414 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:29,359 Speaker 1: accustomed to noting their days that they needed to have 415 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:33,399 Speaker 1: it explained to them that explanation was included in the book. 416 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:36,159 Speaker 1: People were just not really ready for the idea of 417 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:39,360 Speaker 1: writing down things that were going to happen in the future. 418 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:42,640 Speaker 1: They were accustomed to and content with, noting what had 419 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 1: already happened on a given day. If they did want 420 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:48,399 Speaker 1: to record more thoughts, they tended to keep those in 421 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:52,360 Speaker 1: a separate, dedicated diary that wasn't tied to any kind 422 00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:56,840 Speaker 1: of calendar. Plus, all those blank pages made Aitken's annual 423 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,240 Speaker 1: hard to carry around, even though it was still relatively small. 424 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:03,840 Speaker 1: When Akin published a follow up book in seventeen seventy four, 425 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:06,919 Speaker 1: he made it an almanac, not a date book, with 426 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:10,000 Speaker 1: just a few blank pages, and then he ultimately dropped 427 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,440 Speaker 1: those as well, although he continued working as a publisher. Yeah, 428 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:15,280 Speaker 1: he kind of gave up on the whole almanac date 429 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:19,360 Speaker 1: book thing. But obviously, date books with formats very similar 430 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,639 Speaker 1: to Aitkins were eventually adopted in the US. By the 431 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:25,760 Speaker 1: second decade of the nineteenth century, their popularity in Great 432 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:28,439 Speaker 1: Britain had finally kind of worked its way over to 433 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:32,119 Speaker 1: North America. If Eitkin had lived twenty years past his 434 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 1: death in eighteen oh two, he would have seen the 435 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:38,320 Speaker 1: surge and popularity of those books. They became almost a 436 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,240 Speaker 1: little bit of a fad, and then people quickly realized 437 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 1: the benefit of having a record and planner close at hand. 438 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:48,520 Speaker 1: How this fad popped up is difficult to track, but 439 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:52,720 Speaker 1: one contributor was really just a simple matter of materials. 440 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:56,600 Speaker 1: Paper had become more readily available, so printers could print 441 00:26:56,680 --> 00:27:00,080 Speaker 1: more different products and charge less, meaning they were there 442 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,400 Speaker 1: was a greater chance that those products would find customers. 443 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,639 Speaker 1: During the US Civil War, date books were issued to 444 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 1: Union soldiers, and once the war ended, pocket planners became 445 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 1: even more popular. They spread from metropolitan areas to less 446 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:19,600 Speaker 1: densely populated towns. These also started to reflect a shift 447 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:22,480 Speaker 1: in the way people lived, as they had columns for 448 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,920 Speaker 1: bill due dates, spaces for addresses of friends and acquaintances 449 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,400 Speaker 1: and appointments, as well as notes. But what wasn't there 450 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:34,280 Speaker 1: was all the almanac data, as that part had shrunk 451 00:27:34,359 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: out of the pages. The popularity of the date book 452 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:40,199 Speaker 1: had increased. The date book became so popular that by 453 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:43,399 Speaker 1: the end of the nineteenth century, Montgomery Ward introduced a 454 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:47,119 Speaker 1: product called the Standard Diary, which was meant to offer 455 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:50,880 Speaker 1: anyone the chance to fully account for their time and finances. 456 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:55,520 Speaker 1: This rise in popularity of date books, which were called 457 00:27:55,600 --> 00:28:01,760 Speaker 1: everything from diaries to pocketbooks too, still sometimes almanacs et cetera, 458 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:05,280 Speaker 1: had this questionable effect that we are all still grappling 459 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:09,119 Speaker 1: with today. Right planner consumers started to consider how to 460 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:11,919 Speaker 1: make the most of their time because they started to 461 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 1: think about time differently. When your time is noted in 462 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:18,600 Speaker 1: the margins of something like an almanac and how your 463 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:21,240 Speaker 1: day played out. It may seem a little bit secondary 464 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 1: to a larger picture, but when it's the focus of 465 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:26,920 Speaker 1: an entire blank book, you are almost certain to think 466 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:29,640 Speaker 1: about it with more gravity, and it changed the way 467 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:33,120 Speaker 1: that people thought about their days and about themselves. As 468 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:37,240 Speaker 1: the twentieth century began, date books once again evolved, as 469 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:41,160 Speaker 1: they had become so integral to daily life that branded versions, 470 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:45,960 Speaker 1: which were essentially advertisement vehicles, started to pop up. Department 471 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: stores would give away free planners that had ads throughout 472 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:52,800 Speaker 1: their pages, just as almanacs had included everything from patent 473 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:57,160 Speaker 1: medicine ads to calls for abolition. Planners with marketing also 474 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:00,800 Speaker 1: became common, and of course, the twentieth century also saw 475 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:06,160 Speaker 1: wide diversification of planners. Today, design variations abound, from what's 476 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,680 Speaker 1: featured on the cover to how planning is managed within 477 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:12,440 Speaker 1: the pages. There are general planners, goal setting planners, planners 478 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,680 Speaker 1: for specific activities like running or sewing, or even how 479 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,280 Speaker 1: many books you read. Business Research Insights reports that in 480 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:22,280 Speaker 1: twenty twenty two, the diaries and planners market was worth 481 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: more than a billion dollars. That's a billion with a 482 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,920 Speaker 1: b and it's projected to reach almost one point five 483 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:31,200 Speaker 1: billion by twenty thirty one. And this actually shows a 484 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:34,520 Speaker 1: big bounce back from a drop that happened during pandemic lockdown. 485 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:38,400 Speaker 1: And it's interesting because it also shows growth despite digital 486 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:42,400 Speaker 1: options due to people valuing what the report calls a 487 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:46,440 Speaker 1: disciplined lifestyle and a new surge in the popularity of 488 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:50,600 Speaker 1: diary keeping. So things are evolving, but we're just repeating 489 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:57,600 Speaker 1: everything that's come before, so I hope you know we 490 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:02,360 Speaker 1: also I will note this cover primarily like English language 491 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 1: diaries and almanacs. Sure, we'll talk about one little factoid 492 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:09,680 Speaker 1: I came across in my research that I couldn't really 493 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:14,560 Speaker 1: find a lot of information in another language, and we'll 494 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:17,720 Speaker 1: get to that in our behind the scenes, But right 495 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,480 Speaker 1: now I have a little listener mail and then we'll 496 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:25,120 Speaker 1: go finish our recovery from our New Year's Eve celebrations. 497 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 1: This is about Masons, which we talked about on our 498 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:34,280 Speaker 1: William Morgan episodes. This is from our listener, Greg who writes, Hi, 499 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:36,880 Speaker 1: Holly and Tracy. I found your podcast on the abduction 500 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:40,479 Speaker 1: of William Morgan fascinating, not only the story itself, but 501 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:42,760 Speaker 1: because my dad was a Mason, and he was always 502 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:45,600 Speaker 1: a bit vague about it. He was a successful small 503 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:48,760 Speaker 1: town businessman and sometime in the nineteen seventies he was 504 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:52,120 Speaker 1: invited to join the Masons. As a kid, I always 505 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:54,400 Speaker 1: wanted to wear his sparkly red fez hat with the 506 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:57,600 Speaker 1: long tassel, which we still have to this day. He 507 00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,760 Speaker 1: never really told me much about it, except that it 508 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:03,400 Speaker 1: was a social group. Over time, he became an inactive member. 509 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:05,920 Speaker 1: I asked him why he stopped going, and it really 510 00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:08,760 Speaker 1: just came down to social circles. He and Mom were 511 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:12,440 Speaker 1: flower lovers. Dad hybridized iris and day lilies, and they 512 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:15,840 Speaker 1: found their participation in flower clubs more fun for them. Okay, 513 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:18,240 Speaker 1: I'm kind of in awe of your dad right now, Greg, 514 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 1: but the Masons were very good to my dad. There 515 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:23,640 Speaker 1: is a rule in the Masonic organization that they will 516 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:25,800 Speaker 1: take care of any Mason who lives long enough to 517 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,320 Speaker 1: run out of money. This was the case with my dad, 518 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:31,280 Speaker 1: who lived to be ninety two despite his savings. We 519 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:33,480 Speaker 1: all know the high cost of living and assisted living 520 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 1: drains as savings quickly. That's where the Masons came in 521 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,000 Speaker 1: once Dad was out of money. Obviously, not counting his 522 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,080 Speaker 1: monthly Social Security benefits. The Masons stepped in and they 523 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:46,360 Speaker 1: paid Dad's expenses until he passed. This was probably six 524 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:49,320 Speaker 1: to eight months worth of expenses. Our family will forever 525 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,400 Speaker 1: be grateful to the kindness of Masons. Uh, that's a 526 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:55,000 Speaker 1: great story. I love it attached is it two for one? 527 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,040 Speaker 1: It's a picture of Greg's dad and his cat, Priscilla. 528 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 1: Priscilla liked to take rides on my dad's walker. My 529 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:03,800 Speaker 1: parents had three cats, and they knew when it was bedtime. 530 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:05,920 Speaker 1: Dad would call them and they would run in and 531 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 1: beat him to the bed. Once they knew he was asleep, 532 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:10,320 Speaker 1: they would get up and do their nightly kiddy things. 533 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:12,920 Speaker 1: Then they would be bedside at five am for when 534 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,720 Speaker 1: Dad woke up. All of my parents' kiddies were the best. 535 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 1: When it was time to move Dad to assisted living, 536 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:20,520 Speaker 1: two of the kiddies found good homes and the third, 537 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:24,120 Speaker 1: his favorite, decided to cross the Rainbow Bridge. I'm sorry 538 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:26,200 Speaker 1: you lost your dad. He sounds amazing. And this is 539 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:32,640 Speaker 1: the cutest picture I've ever seen. It's so funny because 540 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:35,240 Speaker 1: the cat is just like, this is my conveyance now. 541 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:37,640 Speaker 1: I love it so much, and the cat is adorable 542 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 1: and your dad sounds like a wonderful person. If you 543 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:41,920 Speaker 1: would like to write to us make me cry a 544 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,040 Speaker 1: little bit, you can do that at History History Podcast 545 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:47,680 Speaker 1: at iHeartRadio dot com. You can also find us on 546 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:50,160 Speaker 1: social media as Missed in History and if you have 547 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:52,960 Speaker 1: not yet subscribed, you can do that on the iHeartRadio 548 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:55,760 Speaker 1: app or anywhere that you listen to your favorite shows. 549 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:04,040 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 550 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:09,000 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 551 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:11,120 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.