Printed Material
Page: 25

Thomas' Almanack for 1784

Page: cover | 1 | 18 | 19 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30
Date: 1784
About this artifact

Almanacs were among the most widely-owned books in 18th and early 19th century America. An almanac was a calendar, a diary, a weather station, and a magazine all rolled into one. Produced annually, almanacs were the most commonly owned books in the colonial period except for the Bible. Benjamin Franklin noted that his own Pennsylvania Almanac was enormously popular among "the common people, who bought scarcely any other books". This almanac for 1784 contains the preliminary articles of peace between Great Britain and the United States which had become the Treaty of Paris when they were signed in 1763. It is likely that this almanac was printed before news was received that the treaty was signed. It also contains an excerpt from the Massachusetts Constitution. The times and places when the Supreme Judicial Court would sit are listed. This information would be useful to men who either wanted to stop the courts from sitting or to protect them from those who sought to close them. This almanac was published by Isaiah Thomas. He founded the Whig newspaper, "The Massachusetts Spy" in Boston in 1770. In April, 1775, Thomas heard rumors that his press was going to be seized, so he packed up his press, type and paper and moved to Worcester. Thomas remained in Worcester where he published this almanac from 1775 to 1801. Isaiah Thomas founded the American Antiquarian Society in 1812.

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Courtesy Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield, MA