A Lush Illustrated Styrian Almond Calendar
Alter Bauernkalender 1962.
Styria, Lower Austria: 1962.
Price: $100.00
About the item
32mo 10.5 cm. x 8 cm. Stapled illustrated wrappers with a slight chip at the bottom corner and small tear at foot of spine on verso, some toning else a very good copy fully illustrated in lush bright colors.
Item #339315
Styrian book calendars were initially developed for agrarian people of the southeast regions of Austria who may be illiterate, and in some houses it may have been the only book that reached the residents each year. They became known as "Almond Calendars" after the "Mandln", the half-figures of the male and female saints, who form the continuous round dance over the days of the month and weather signs. The calendars are largely unchanged from how they first appeared in the late eighteenth century, depicting fully illustrated pages.
The cover features three farmers. According to Styrian tradition, the three farmers were associated with the three old regions of Upper, Central and Lower Styria. The one on the right with the flail was called "Drischmicherl" referring to the frequency of the baptismal name Michael in Upper Styria, the one on the left with the shovel should be called "Kornjockerl" referring to the "Jocklland" in northern East Styria and to the frequency of the baptismal name Jakob in the central Styrian area, and "Brottommerl" is in the middle with the scythe, considering the frequency of the baptismal name Thomas in Lower Styria. The scythe in the middle is a grass scythe and not a grain scythe so it would indicate the predominance of grassland farming with livestock farming in Upper Styria. The flail could probably be used more for the hilly areas of Central Styria with rich agriculture, and with the shovel, one could think of the trenching of the Lower Styrian vineyards.
This particular calendar came from Dr. Harry Steinhauer (b.1905 - d.2006), who was a Professor of German at the University of California Santa Barbara and author of numerous German textbooks.
