Banneker’s Almanack and Ephemeris for the Year of Our Lord 1793

This Banneker's Almanack is a 48-page printed booklet printed in 1793. The almanac is a booklet comprised of 8 segments of folded paper, bound together by two stitches of cream-colored thread on the left-hand side that are knotted at the back. The top edge of the booklet is trimmed, but the side and bottom edges are not. The pages are unnumbered. Pages 37-40 are uncut along the top edge.

Banneker's Almanack contains a varied assortment of information. Primarily an annual calendar, each month is listed along with important dates, statistical information, phases of the moon, astronomical data, and tide tables. The Almanack also includes political and social commentary most notably on anti-slavery issues. Banneker included abstracts such as, “A Plan of a Peace-Office, for the United States”, “Extracts from the Debates in the Last Session of the British Parliament, Apr. 1792”, “Extract from Jefferson’s Notes on Virginia”, “Extract from Wilkinson’s Appeal to England on Behalf of the Abused Africans”, poetry, Census data, tables of interest at 5% and 7%, currency exchanges, roads and mileage from various starting points to nearby towns and cities, and information about Federal, State and Local courts.

Transcription Available

Credit: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture