Early Broadside.- Lunario di Foligno, 1654

Discorso sopra l'anno 1654. Nel quale si mostrano le Feste mobili, et stabili, il far della Luna, la mutatione de’ tempi, et altre appartenenze dell’Anno…, small woodcut illustrations of the sun and the moon, typographical frame, agricultural vignettes of the 12 months on 6 columns, depicting the typical human activities, lacunas in the text wisely restored, folio (42x32 cm), Sebastiano Zecchini, Perugia, 1654.

***Very rare, no copies recorded in public libraries or at auction. The calendar doesn’t mention the Saints, but the average weather forecast for each day and feast. Due to their clarity and the use of symbols, the calendars were easily interpreted even by illiterate people. The short life of these sheets meant that, once the calendar year was over, they were reused for various purposes (book inner leaves, private correspondence covers, etc.) and the printers themselves, aware of the cost of paper, did not throw away unsold stock. The division of time in civil and religious life has always been marked by calendars, almanacs, and lunar calendars. While the calendar only contained the registration of the days of the year, arranged by months and weeks, with the indication of the holidays, the seasons, the course of the sun and the moon, the almanac introduced astronomical observations, as well as other useful information. These were then followed by weather forecasts in the lunar calendars.

Provenance. The calendar was found by the owner in a XVII century volume, where it was used as front free endpaper.