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Gold Coin and Gold Medal Illustrated Almanac for 1883 : Facts for Farmers was published by Bussey & McLeod s Stove Company in Troy New York. It was distributed gratis by Childs & Jones Company at 84 Genesee Street, Utica NY. The Bussey and McLeod Stove Company made both cooking and heating stoves and ranges. On the front cover is a small, bird s eye picture of the stove factory at Troy. On the rear cover is a detailed engraving depicting one of their stoves : The Gold Coin High Art and Low Feed Base Heating Parlor Stove ****************************** Throughout the almanac are the standard ephemerides, giving sun and moon positions and various astronomical facts. Accompanying each month's chart are lovely engraved scenes which reflect the changing seasons. These are truly beautiful and depict people going about doing seasonal work … and also, recreation. Thus we see farmers seeding, fruit being harvested, boys fishing and swimming. There is one rather intricate engraving displaying a mill wheel and stream, with a young man and boy fishing at the site. There is an interesting engraving showing hops being harvested. Around here we are now seeing some farms that have taken up growing hops once again - something one did not see for years, and , it seems, there is little difference in the old and modern methods - at least in the physical intricacies of growing the crop. The pictures depict spring, summer , fall and winter. ****************************** After the ephemerides section there are various brief essays and tidbits about a great variety of subjects, amongst some of the are Facts for Farmers. The engravings continue : there are handsome portraits of pretty young women, foreign cities (a Thames embankment), old churches, country side scenery (there is a handsome engraving of Otsego Lake in Upstate New York); pictures depict brief dramatic or romantic episodes. One picture shows a rather antiquated scaffolding being used to construct a rather large urban building. There are a great many vignette engravings, as well as full page pictures, and lots of curious and /or entertaining facts - many of them aimed at farmers, which makes this almanac a real pleasure to browse through. ***************************** SERIES : Yearly Almanac / TITLE : Gold Coin and Gold Medal Illustrated Almanac for 1883 : Facts for Farmers / IMPRINT : Bussey and McLeod Stove Company / PLACE : Troy New York / DATE PRINTED : 1882 / STATUS : OP - Rare / DETAILS : Pictorial Paperback; numerous engraved pictures, full-page and vignette; 48 pages (unpaginated); 5 x 8 ; pictorial wraps, stapled and glued (2 staples). On the front cover : decorative lettering, amidst which is nestled a picture of the Troy foundry, placed as if pinned to a wall, with a sprig of green stuck behind it. ( An interesting attempt at Trompe-l' il ). At the foot of the cover is the name of the store that distributed the almanac gratis to customers. (Child and Jones, 84 Genesee St., Utica NY). The rear cover is devoted to an advertisement for one of the company s stoves, as is the reverse side of the rear cover and the inside of the front cover. The title page also features an engraving of a stove. ******************************** CONDITION -- GOOD ONLY -- This is a previously owned book that has seen considerable use and has survived in a somewhat rough condition, with the following most obvious imperfections noted : : EXTERIOR : Mouse nibbles to foot of spine; soft bumps to corners; creasing and small edge tears and nicks; a small ink stain displays near the bottom of the spine fold; the rear cover has a stain of indeterminate origin (Looks like a cross between foxing and smudging, and extends through the paper's fibers to the reverse side). The rear cover also has a tear extending from the spine fold (about 3 inches from top) Cover surface is darkened and smudged, with general obvious weathering. / BINDING : Tender. The staples have become detached from a few leaves, but none o. Seller Inventory # 2312
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