Periodicals of the Times

QUESTION: I have some old almanacs dating from the late 1700s and early 1800s. Can you tell me if these have any value, and if so, where might I sell them?

ANSWER: Unfortunately, just because something is old doesn’t make it valuable. This especially applies to old books and periodicals. Of course, different people have varied reasons for purchasing old periodicals such as these. Before we talk about their possible value, let’s take a look at how this type of printed matter got started.

During the Colonial period of the United States, people got their news from small one-sheet flyers and four-page newspapers. During the 1750s and 1760s, these often appeared only once a week, but as the population grew and towns developed, the daily newspaper came into existence. Printing technology also improved, allowing small publishers to print larger numbers of their papers.  Some of these early almanacs had a political bent. Such was the case for Porcupine’s Political Sensor, a short-lived monthly periodical succeeded by the daily newspaper The Porcupline’s Gazette, both published in Philadelphia by William Cobbett.

The Porcupine’s Gazette ran for 770 issues. Cobbett, the prolific, controversial and often contradictory, and anti-authoritarian writer, wrote under the pen-name of "Peter Porcupine." In 1796, a few years after he arrived in the United States, he began a monthly periodical called the Porcupine’s Political Censor, which he used to poke fun at his political opponents, usually those supporting a pro-French or Jeffersonian- Republican sentiment. Cobbett published his Censor until March 1797, when he replaced it with the Porcupine's Gazette. The first issue appeared on March 4, 1797, the day of John Adams’ inauguration. It had a subscription base of about 1,000 readers, which more than doubled within a few months. By November 1797, Cobbett was printing 3,000 copies a day.

Cobbett used the newspaper to support the Federalist party and to strike out against the French and their American supporters during the period of increased tensions between the United States and France. His contentious articles thrived in the politically charged atmosphere, though Cobbett often found himself on the receiving end of libel suits. He filled his newspaper with articles on national and local politics, foreign policy, news from Europe, and economics. Today, issues of the Gazette provide a rich source of information on daily life in Federal Philadelphia, with each issue containing commercial ads and notices, reports of arrivals in the port of Philadelphia, local prices for goods, advertisements for schools and doctors, and much more.

Another form of printed matter was the almanac. These were smaller in size and usually had a number of pages. They were the first periodicals and usually appeared less frequently, often just once a year. They contained articles of interest to the rural society, including information about the weather and farming techniques, plus some local stories.  A good example of this type of periodical was The Burlington Almanack, published by Isaac Collins.

Collins was a printer, publisher, bookseller and merchant in Colonial New Jersey. He’s most noted for this New Jersey Gazette and New Jersey Almanack, which followed his original one, The Burlington Almanack, a periodical for west-central New Jersey that ran from 1770 to 1777.

He was a firm believer in the freedom of the press and had even refused to reveal his source of a pseudonymous article even though the New Jersey legislative council demanded it.  He stood on his grounds as a faithful guardian of the liberty of the press and would not reveal his source unless the source gave him permission. He wrote many persuasive articles on the principle of freedom of the press

The Port Folio was another political periodical, published by Joseph Dennie,  an American author and journalist who was one of the foremost men of letters of the Federalist Era. He originally wrote for various periodicals in Massachusetts but in 1800 moved to Philadelphia to found the Port Folio, along with Philadelphia bookseller Asbury Dickens. Writing under the pseudonym Oliver Oldschool, Esq., Dennie composed and published in 1803 a scathing attack on Jeffersonian democracy, for which he was brought up on charges of seditious libel.

The last of your periodicals is The American Magazine, first published in the fall of 1757 and only running for 12 issues and a supplement.

While all of these periodicals are historically important, their condition is rather poor. Even more so than with other antiques, the condition of books and other printed matter is very important. Collectors seek out those in the very best condition. But that doesn’t say that no one would be interested in your items. All of them contain a wealth of information about life and culture, as well as the political climate, of the time. Historians and writers working on historical novels and history books would find their contents invaluable.

Selling your periodicals will be challenge, however. It will take a very special person to buy them and finding that person may be difficult.

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Predicting the Value of Farmer’s Almanacs

QUESTION:  I happen to come into about 20 old and different Farmer’s Almanacs ranging in issue dates from 1867 to 1930.  I haven't been able to find any information on them. Is there a link you can refer me to so I can get an idea of their value?

ANSWER: Before looking at how to determine the value of your almanacs, it’s important to note that over the last two centuries there have been several almanacs with the name “Farmer’s” in them. Benjamin Franklin first published his now famous Poor Richard’s Almanac back in the 1732 and continued doing so until 1758. At its peak, Franklin printed over 10,000 copies for each edition.

By the late 18th century, many almanacs included the term “Farmer’s” in their titles because the young nation was mostly one of farmers who wanted to know what the weather would be like for the coming year, so they would know when to plant and harvest their crops. Accurate weather prediction meant the difference between survival and starvation.

Of the two publications known today as farmer’s almanacs, the Old Farmer's Almanac, originally published in 1792 and still published every September, is the most widely known. Begun by Robert Thomas, it’s first editor, the Old Farmer's Almanac grew from a circulation of 3,000 copies to over 9,000 in just three years. The cost was only nine cents. Thomas added the word "Old" to the title of his almanac in 1832, then removed it three years later.

Since Thomas’ almanac format wasn't unique, perhaps his weather predictions were more accurate. Based on his observations, Thomas devised a complex series of natural cycles to create a secret weather forecasting formula, resulting in unusually accurate forecasts.

John H. Jenks bought the publication after Thomas died, then put the word “Old” back in the title in 1848. Three years later, Jenks hired Henry Nichols to create the Almanac’s trademark four-seasons cover that has remained with the periodical ever since.

In 1861, Charles L. Flint became editor and focused the Almanac’s content on farming to provide his growing readership with information they could use. By 1900, the Old Farmer’s Almanac had yet another editor, Horace Ware, who aimed the publication beyond farmers to a more general readership by using features on nature and modern life instead of farming..

After surviving the World War I and the Depression, the Old Farmer’s Almanac entered a new era under the leadership of Roger Scaife who became editor in 1936. Its circulation had fallen from a high of 225,000 in 1863 to just 88,000. He mistakenly eliminated the weather forecasts, thinking that his readers didn’t need them, and almost killed the publication.

Robb Sagendorph, owner of Yankee Magazine, bought the Old Farmer's Almanac in 1939 and moved it to Dublin, New Hampshire. He reinstated Thomas’ original format and style the readership of the publication began to grow once again.

The other publication, known simply as the Farmers' Almanac, has been in continuous publication since 1818. David Young and Jacob Mann founded their little publication in Morristown, New Jersey two years after what has come to be known as “the year without a summer.” During that year, farmers crops suffered severely from the unusual weather, so Young and Mann decided to create a publication which would offer them accurate weather forecasts to prevent a disaster like that from happening again.

Astronomer Samuel Hart Wright succeeded Young in 1851to become the second of only seven editors of the publication. Eventually, the publication’s offices moved from Morristown to nearby Newark, New Jersey.

Ray Geiger served as the Farmers’ Almanac's longest-running editor, from 1934 until shortly before his death in 1994. In 1955, he moved production of the Farmers' Almanac from Newark to its current headquarters in Lewiston, Maine. Today, his son, Peter Geiger continues to publish the Almanac.

Published by the Almanac Publishing Company, of Lewiston, Maine, the Farmer’s Almanac has become noted for its long-range weather predictions. Its readers claim the Almanac is 80-85 percent accurate in its predictions. But studies comparing the actual weather with the Almanac’s predictions have shown that the predictions aren’t any more accurate than pure chance.

Although the editors of the Farmer’s Almanac make predictions as far as two years in advance, they’re . re highly secretive about how they go about making them, only saying that they rely on astronomical data like the positions of the planets, sunspot activity, and tidal action. To put an identity to the forecasts, the editors created a fictitious forecaster Caleb Weatherbee.

Writing to down-home farmer folk, the almanac has also included its own special blend of advice on farming, gardening, fishing, and cooking over the years, as well as human-interest articles. Its editors have continually focused on the themes of simplicity, sustainable living, and conservation.

Old copies of both the Old Farmer’s Almanac and the Farmer’s Almanac abound. Since each was the farmer’s best companion and popular with even regular people for its weather predictions, there are a lot of old copies hidden in people’s attics and basements. Unfortunately, these aren’t always in the best condition. And as with any other collectible, especially paper ones, condition is of prime importance when determining value. The earlier issues from the 19th century, printed on paper high in rag content, are usually in much better condition, but dampness can play a big role in paper deterioration. But even in the best condition, the sheer number of copies out there prevent the value from becoming too high.

The average selling price on eBay for a late 19th-century copy of the Old Farmer’s Almanac from say the 1870s is only about $12-15. Editions from the 1920s sell for only about $4. Abebooks.com, an online used bookseller, has an 1890 edition in fair condition priced at just $9.

And while these prices are a far cry from the publication’s original price, these little gems are probably more fun to read than to consider as an investment.