Almanacks of all descriptions can be windows into the mindset and cultural norms of the past – whether through advertisements, short stories and vignettes included to entertain or inform, or through any overall theme to the text included within. Most of our libraries have a collection of these of some size, and Local Studies has (naturally) the largest – covering all of Calderdale. These are Deweyed at 905 and kept in the Horsfall Turner room, behind the counter. Today we’re taking a look at some of the Halifax-centric ones to see what each one can tell us about its writers and audience.
- Halifax Historical Almanack, printed by Stephenson and Leach; and the Halifax Guardian Historical Almanack and Literary Companion
Our earliest edition of these almanacks are dated 1861 and 1897, respectively, and if you remember our social media post the other week about the Halifax Shirt House then you know what sort of advertisements are contained within (and how many exclamation points they proved themselves confident in employing). These almanacks were essentially a small town directory. They included lists of local dignitaries and officeholders, Corporation officials and their salaries – no privacy for government employees back then! – lists covering past elections and their results, British statesmen…you get the picture. They also had information about local church incumbents (and their salaries), the local rates and valuations, the rates for cab fares and the distances from Halifax to other areas around, and detail about court sessions for the previous year. There’s even information about water rates and the costs of postage. This sort of resource would be invaluable to everyone, especially given it was updated every year. The later Guardian Almanack also included historical pieces about such varied topics as past people of note, events, and – interestingly – murders! Don’t knock them; such things sell, and these were a commercial interest as much as reference material.
- John Hartley’s Clock Almanack, published first by Alfred Wilson, then John Hartley and James Bland, “The Illuminated Clock”, Corn Market
John Hartley was a clockmaker who published the “Clock Almanack” as a more literary alternative – and we mean “alternative” – to the Historical Almanack. The Almanack was originally started by his father in law, Alfred Wilson, but Hartley and editor James Bland wrote the majority of its content. Not only does it include abbreviated versions of the information in the Historical Almanack, as well as some odd bits of reference information such as commissioned officers of various Yorkshire army forces, but it also includes poems, puzzles, and trivia. Hartley himself was interested in dialect and published separate books of poems and songs over the years. Even sections that would normally be straightforward, such as the “this day in history” month-to-page sections, have that information presented in humourous rhyming format.
The earliest edition of this almanack that is held in Local Studies is dated 1865. Unsurprisingly, a large number of the advertisements are for Wilson’s shop, and even some of the poems refer to “Wilson’s Mart” and the illuminated clock. Their shop was where Lister Horsfall’s is now, at the corner of Corn Market and Cheapside. The clock sadly is no more.
- Halifax Almanack and Parish Year book, published by Henry Leach
This almanack is an even more information-dense version of the Historical Almanack, as can be seen from the contents page alone. We see additional information about orphanages, the private homes of MPs and officials for West Riding and the Borough, the number of manufacturers in the borough, crime statistics…anything at all you might want to know about. There are also some short pieces about the railways 30 years ago, floods in Bradfield and Holmfirth, and the “progress of the Borough”. The earliest edition, 1865, would be a gold mine for those interested in the railways, with four articles specifically about them. There is also a mention of the plans for Halifax Town Hall, which must have been exciting for readers back then while they waited for this civic status symbol to be built. This almanack is almost a bridge between the first two almanacks discussed, where we saw a move from pure information to information mixed with entertainment. Queen’s English, entertainment, though; not like Hartley’s and the next almanack…
- The Beacon Almanack, by Arthur W. Bickerdike
This almanack is a little treasure, and my favourite of the ones selected for this post – for all John Hartley’s interest in dialect, his Clock Almanack only contained some pieces written in dialect. This, however, is entirely in dialect! And it makes for a fun read, which is good as that was the author’s sole intention. Starting as a Christmas annual in 1872, the Almanack was published from 1873 through 1876 before fading away due to Bickerdike’s marriage and relocation to the south coast. Bickerdike was a music teacher and an advertisement for his services can be found right at the end of the 1876 Beacon – not just in pianoforte and music reading lessons and for piano tuning, but also in providing entertainment at functions via readings of his poetry and prose, described as “fun without vulgarity”. Bickerdike’s purpose in publishing the Beacon was precisely that; entertainment. A passage from the preface of the 1873 edition reads as follows:
“It being generally understood ‘at th’ author ov a book has a bit o’ license geen in his preffass, aw hasten ta tak this chonce o’ quoting two or three words spoken I’ won ov aar local papers whilst reviewing a book browt aat bi a contemporary o’ mine: – ‘Halifax seems to be prolific in its “Annuals”, especially as given in the native dialect. We can’t say that it is altogether the best course to pursue in the inculcation of wisdom and knowledge – only it may do for a chance, and there are those who have a taste for it, and are most accessible by it.’ Nah, wi’ th’ exception ‘at this book is an Almanack, an’ fowk may be able ta tell t’ day o’th month, aw admit ‘at ther’s nowt vary striking ta be larn’d in its pages; but, bless mi life, we aren’t ollass suppoased ta be cramming larning inta us skulls ner mooar ner we can be expected ta be ollass heiting … when yor bent on ‘wisdom and knowledge’ dooant tak up this book, get summat scientific.”
He signs off with the pseudonym “Mooar Grins an’ Less Grooaning”. Good advice! More information about his sadly rather short life can be found here: Bickerdike Family Tree
Calderdale Local Studies Library 