[ALMANACS].

Le Grand Messager Boiteux de Strasbourg... [together with] Le Veritable Messager Boiteux de Berne et Vevey...

Vevey. Le Roux, Strasbourg and Lörtscher et Fils, 1832, 1833, 1835, 1836 and 1844. Stock ID #180534

Five almanacs, (unpaginated but complete), text in French, 20.5 x 15.3 cm, the Berne almanac 20.5 x 16.6 cm, woodcut cover illustration of the Lame Messenger and several foldout woodcut illustrations and text illustrations, including a natural history plate of a Javanese fruit bat, folding table, scant spotting and toning, two almanacs with tape repair to the spine; original stab-sewn title-wrappers, some wear but in very good condition.

Small group of almanacs including astronomical observations and phenomena, pieces on agronomy, agriculture and natural history, along with a number of moral and ethical commentaries. The trope of the "Messager Boiteux" (Lame Messenger) as the trustworthy source of news dates from a 17th Century satire by Comenius (see a blog on the subject by curator and artist Tjebbe van Tijen). These almanacs began in Germany, with French versions published in Berne from 1748 and in Strasbourg and Paris from 1814 and developed as sources of local news with a monthly calendar of market Fairs, literary excerpts, major events, celestial calendars and astrology.

When referring to this item please quote stockid 180534.

Price: $195.00 AU

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