The Farmers’ Almanac will publish its last edition this year, ending a run that began in 1818. So how will we know when to plant our crops going forward? Don’t worry: there’s still the Old Farmers’ Almanac, which is now functionally the Only Farmers’ Almanac. Today we’re talking about the once-crowded landscape of American almanac publishing and flipping through a few examples from the late seventeen and early eighteen hundreds. In addition to covering agriculture, there were popular almanacs on medicine, navigation, abolition, and Christianity—and even satirical almanacs that parodied the genre. Designed to entertain as well as inform, these volumes offer a fascinating look at the everyday lives of average Americans hundreds of years ago, plus a wealth of folksy wisdom that may still apply today. Listen to learn more about a disappearing genre on this bucolic new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #100 - The 100th Brattlecast!
Welcome to the 100th episode of #Brattlecast! We’re celebrating by talking about the Brattle’s appraisal of a document so culturally, historically, and monetarily valuable that it featured prominently in a recent Hollywood action movie, opposite co-star Nicholas Cage. But of course the real national treasure is all the fun we’ve had on the podcast, sharing these stories and connecting with our listeners. Thanks for coming on this journey with us—we’re already looking forward to the next 100 episodes!
Bonus Brattlecast - Covid Collectables
Like it or not, we’re living through a fairly dramatic historic event. What kinds of documents and ephemera being generated today will be of interest to future collectors and historians as they try to parse the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the lives of everyday people? In a time when so many of us get our news from twitter, what physical artifacts might remain to remind us of these troubling and unprecedented weeks? Also, we remind you to please feel free to email or call the shop—Ken is there looking after things, and staying connected is important to us while the shop is closed to the public.
Brattlecast #46 - Ken's Lectures
Did you know that Ken gives entertaining and informative talks about old books at libraries and historical societies all across New England? And then after the lecture he’ll stay to do free appraisals of the attendee's potential treasures? Check out Ken's schedule here http://www.brattlebookshop.com/events/ to find out when he'll be in your neighborhood and listen to this episode to learn more about his public speaking career.
Brattlecast #45 - John Ledyard's Voyages
He voyaged with Captain Cook, escaped from college via canoe, and attempted to walk across Russia. But, most importantly for our purposes, he also wrote a plain looking, easily discarded book, some volumes of which contain an extremely valuable map. He's John Ledyard, the most interesting New England character you've never heard of and the author of Captain Cook's Voyages, the book we should all be scouring yard sales for!