New-York and New-Jersey Almanac, for the Year 1822: Second after Bisextile, and 46th of American Independence

New York: Printed by S. Marks [Samuel Marks], 1821. First Edition. NA. Very Good. Quite rare, with the only institutional copy (of which we can be certain) located on OCLC First Search at the AAS. A few other institutions may have the same or similar from another publisher or in a Sammelbund, if you will, of early American almanacs, and one can find the same title for 1823, but being a different year, the contents would also be mostly different. 8vo. 16.5 by 10.5 cm. Unpaginated, 36 pages, including front and rear. One illustration, under the heading of "The Anatomy of a Man's Body", relates body parts to the constellations. Both bizarre and idiosyncratic to our sensibility. After the usual calendar and astronomical-related material, almost four pages devoted to cures of disease and techniques for getting rid of vermin. In this section, might there be forgotten, possibly effective, treatments balancing the absurdities such as the recommendation of tea as a cure for cancer in the space of three weeks? Then comes a long, anti-Semitic anecdote, meant to be amusing, playing into rancid stereotypes. Some verse follows, among them, a poem entited "The Origin of a Chimney Sweeper". Other curios. Finally a glossary of practical information relating to the two states -- lists of towns and cities, government official, distances, etc. etc. Some of this material would be of interest to history buffs, and as one simple example, the names of the now long-forgotten towns in the Borough of Queens, long before Queens became a part of New York City. Condition: considerable amount of soiling, front and rear page. Scattered soiling besides. Entirely readable, though. Small closed tear, rear page. This copy was bound in a volume with other similar brochures, clearly, and one can see the remnant of that probably calf binding on the spine.